Increased IT Spending in 2003

IT buyers in the US and the UK are predicting growth rates of around 4% in IT spending in 2002 and increased growth rates for 2003, according to the latest results from the Technology Confidence barometer, the joint study conducted by United Business Media's RoperNOP and CMP Media business divisions.

Looking further ahead, higher growth rates for overall IT investment are predicted for 2003, with the US at 7.7%, more confident of growth than both the UK at 6.3% and Germany at 5.4%.

In partnership with CMP and Silicon Media Group, RoperNOP Technology interviewed key IT decision-makers in organisations ranging from small enterprises to large corporations in the US, Germany and the UK, as part of a quarterly programme of research.

Almost 10% growth is predicted in US IT security software spend this quarter, (versus Q3 2001) compared to just under 8% in the UK and Germany. For 2002 as whole, growth rates of around 4% in total IT spending are predicted for the UK and US compared to 2001. German technology buyers are somewhat more pessimistic, predicting a no-growth year in 2002.

At a time of uncertainty within global stock markets, business priorities are focused on sales and marketing strategies that will drive new customer acquisition - mentioned as the top priority amongst a third of respondents. To support this, key IT decision makers have listed e-Commerce as one of the key priorities in 2002. This is reflected by predicted IT spend for web based applications growing by 6% for the US and UK and 4% in Germany.

Commenting on the study, Richard Jameson, MD of RoperNOP Technology said 'Confidence in IT investment has remained fairly constant since our first study in March. This new study indicates a moderately good level of confidence for 2003. However, new IT spend will continue to be carefully prioritised, with the winning segments being security, storage and applications focused on customer retention and acquisition.'

The RoperNOP Technology Confidence Barometer is an independent monitor of IT investment trends, conducted online on a quarterly basis. The latest wave of research was carried out in June and July 2002, and includes the views of over 1400 IT buyers in the US, the UK and Germany. Data is weighted to be representative of the IT buying community. Findings from the next wave of the Technology Confidence Barometer will be released in October 2002.

All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.