Since the credit crunch began to bite, Australian and New Zealand (ANZ) IT leaders have faced more positive market conditions than their peers in many other countries around the world — particularly those in North America and Europe. This is reflected in their muted but generally more positive outlook on the economic and IT environment for their firm or industry over the next 12 months. But because of the high levels of risk aversion in the ANZ economies, this more positive outlook has not, for many organizations, translated into tech-based competitive advantage, as management has ruthlessly put new IT initiatives to the sword.