More technology, fewer resources. Growing problems, less money.

Every CIO faces a similar challenge in today's recession: to do more with less. That's a very simple way of explaining the uphill battle IT leaders face as they deal with an onslaught of new technologies and tools, all while trimming (or slashing) their budgets and headcounts.

Forbes gets some thoughts on the matter from Tom Hogan, SVP of software with Hewlett-Packard, in this interview.

Keep in mind that Hogan works for one of the biggest tech firms selling to CIOs, so weigh what he says with a grain of salt. And you might be a little distraught by Hogan's opening comment -- "I usually start off discussions with CIOs by telling them, 'I think your job is getting really hard.'" -- since, well, that's been blatantly obvious for a while now. But you could benefit from paying attention to some of the things H-P is doing.

For more on CIO priorities for 2009, check out what we found in our recent Future of IT study.

And tell us, what are your top priorities? In the face of dwindling IT budgets and ongoing economic uncertainty, what initiatives and issues are most important to your IT org and your executive overseers?