Management Toolkit

IT bosses upbeat on tech spending

Andy McCue silicon.com

Published: 04 Oct 2005 16:25 BST

CIOs' confidence in the current health of the US economy and IT spending remains "bullish", according to the latest research from analyst Forrester.

The quarterly poll by Forrester gauges the confidence of 151 CIOs of North American companies on current and future business conditions, future IT spending and expectations.

In the latest poll CIO confidence has risen significantly since the second quarter but Forrester warns the disruption caused by Hurricane Katrina could have a negative impact on expectations and confidence in the fourth quarter.

86 percent of CIOs reported a strong or very strong business climate in the third quarter compared to 70 percent in the second quarter, while 78 percent reported some increase in IT spending compared to last year.

IT spending projections for the rest of the year also improved with only six percent predicting they will spend less than they had budgeted, while a quarter expect to overspend.

Confidence about the future business climate has also picked up significantly compared to the last quarter, with 86 percent of CIOs saying they expect business to continue improving in 2006.

The research said: "Since consumers seem to be shrugging off the effects of higher energy prices and interest rates through July, companies and their CIOs seem to have done the same."