FREE DM Review Site Registration!
Sign-up today and access DM Review on the Web!

Your FREE registration entitles you to:
FREE email newsletters

FREE access to all DM Review content

FREE access to web seminars, resource portals, our white paper library and more!

   

CIO Tech Poll: Outlook on Tech Spending Remains Strong

Excerpted from Lorraine Cosgrove Ware, CIO Online, March 2, 2004.

Despite a dip in the tech spending forecast, CIOs remain upbeat about IT investments for 2004. In February, the CIO Magazine Tech Poll panelists projected IT budgets to grow by 7.2 percent over the coming 12 months, down 12 percent from 8.2 percent in January, but higher than any prediction made in 2003. IT Executives further reported that IT budgets increased by an average of 4.5 percent over the previous 12 months, which is consistent with the 4.4 percent increase reported in the January poll. The Tech Future Growth Index (TFGI), which projects IT activity over the next 12 months, also dipped this month from 3.2 in January to 2.9 in February.

The business climate that was putting downward pressure on IT budgets and spending appears to be lifting, with more than half (53 percent) of Tech Poll Panelists reporting a pick-up in their IT spending in either this quarter or the previous quarter, while only 15 percent expect improvement in the second half of this year. Bolstering this view, a recent study by IBM Business Consulting Services, which was based on interviews with 453 CEOs around the world, concluded that businesses are focusing more on revenue growth versus cost-cutting to meet financial objectives over the next two to three years. “CEOs have cut costs as much as they can for shareholder value,” said Eric Pelander, Partner, Strategy and Change for IBM Business Consulting Services, “Given their recent economic optimism, CEOs will prioritize on revenue growth and investment opportunities.”

When asked about areas for investment, the outlook on future IT remained relatively flat this month compared to the January poll, with 42 percent of panelists saying they would increase spending overall in seven technology areas this year. Hardware continues to be an area targeted for investment with half (50 percent) of CIOs planning to increase spending on computer hardware, storage systems (48 percent) and data network equipment (42 percent). Security continues to dominate the CIO’s list of priorities with 54 percent planning to spend more on security software over the next 12 months.

Each month, CIO magazine in partnership with Deutsche Bank Securities and Ed Yardeni, chief investment strategist, Prudential Securities Inc., surveys a panel of senior executives on current and future IT spending as well as other IT issues. In February, 301 executives responded to the survey.

CIO’s Tech Poll represented a broad range of industries, including non- computer/communications manufacturing (13 percent), health care (11 percent), finance (13 percent), technology services (12 percent), state or local government (5 percent) and wholesale/retail/distribution (6 percent). In terms of company size, 14 percent of the respondents were from companies with 5,000 or more employees.


This piece is brought to you by the DM Review editorial staff.

For more information on related topics, visit the following channels:



Industry Vendors