It May Be Cloudy, But Software Sales are Looking Bright
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The number of IT managers planning to make new software investments is at an all-time high, according to a new survey.
The recently released CDW IT Monitor revealed that two out of IT decision-makers expect to make key IT software investments throughout the rest of the year. That’s up six percentage points from last year – and is four percentage points above the previous record, set in the fourth quarter of 2010.
And it’s not just software spending that’s on the rise. The survey found 75 percent of IT managers expect to purchase new hardware in the next six months, which is seven percentage points above this time last year.
The areas in which IT managers plan to spend money include virtualization, security and cloud computing.
“Given the current economy, many IT decision-makers are displaying a cautious optimism,” Thomas E. Richards, CDW president and chief operating officer, said in a prepared release. “CIOs are looking at every IT investment in terms of how it makes sense for the business, and our data shows they are still spending on key investments including software and hardware – particularly mobile devices, virtualization and security.”
In addition to spending plans, the survey – which revealed a mixed outlook overall – also measured IT confidence and budget expectations.
While spending is showing gains, budget recovery has been slow, as the number of IT managers expecting to increase their budget sank five percentage points from last year.
The budget forecast among large business and the federal government in particular is weaker than this time last year, down 10 and 17 percentage points respectively. The bright spots are medium-size businesses and state governments, which show a more favorable budget outlook.
Created by CDW, the CDW IT Monitor is based on a survey of more than 1,000 IT decision-makers in all sizes of companies and multiple industries spanning three levels of government.
