Survey: IT executives see growth in 2009, but not in all sectors

Cyndy Aleo-Carreira — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:21:45 -0800

The U.S. economy may be in the grip of a recession, but some IT professionals are making plans for larger budgets in 2009, according to a CDW survey.

At its Partner Summit this past week, CDW surveyed 273 IT executives about their IT spending for 2009. considering the current economic conditions, it's natural to expect that IT spending will decline next year. However, CDW found a bright spot in the clouds (literally).

While many respondents said their budgets will shrink drastically, 60 percent indicated their organizations will actually maintain or increase their budgets. Certain verticals look especially strong, including healthcare, energy, and government. Those sectors expecting declines included financial services, manufacturing, retail, and non-profits (see chart below).

The survey also asked about spending on certain technologies. Thirty-four percent of respondents believe that consolidation and virtualization will see growth, 32 percent said that security will grow, and 31 percent focused on storage. This belief is closely tied to what the executives identified as the biggest technology news stories in 2008: 36 percent felt green and energy efficient IT were important, with another 20 percent declaring virtualization the most important news.

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Survey: IT executives see growth in 2009, but not in all sectors