Budgets: Business wants to keep a hand on the tap

PA’s David Elton, IT expert, is quoted in an article in the Financial Times The Connected Business special report. The article looks at how information technology spending has weathered the recent economic travails, but questions whether a recovery is likely.

According to industry analysts, global IT spending is slowing.  David comments that evidence of continuing pressure on budgets, especially in western Europe, is echoed by those on the ground. “We saw a softening of revenues in the fourth quarter of 2011, more so than expected … That is making people think about next year’s budgets a lot more carefully.”

Businesses that had restarted investment programmes in 2009 or 2010 are not necessarily halting them, as they did in 2008, but they are placing projects under greater scrutiny, looking for ways to cut costs, especially, capital expenditure. In respect of the latter, they are trying to achieve a return on investment at an earlier stage.

David says: “People are still planning on investments in IT, but they are being challenged to do so with 10 per cent less, so they are having to prioritise.”

You can read the article in full here. 

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