In line with the findings of most Big 4 surveys, a study recently released by Accenture finds that sixty percent of U.S. businesses expect IT spending at their companies to continue to increase over the next several years. The current average spending among the companies surveyed was also described as less than adequate by many of the executives.
IT budgets with expected increases in spending could be attributed to three primary reasons: new business initiatives, upgrading systems, and new technologies. Listed among the top 10 were regulatory compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and security. However this category did not finish ahead of business and technology.
Even with the increased regulation and workload for IT departments that resulted from the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, it is interesting to note that business and technology are still the primary drivers in IT spending.
From the Big4 perspective, the globalization of markets will dictate that IT departments in all industries increase their budgets to accommodate the necessary integration of cultural as well as regulatory requirements along with increased security measures.
Many of the Big4 firms that are operating globally have strategic growth initiatives that on this expected budget increases. The effectiveness of the IT department in many industries business operations will set the pace for the success of planned global expansion.
The Accenture survey is interesting from the perspective that even in an area that is traditionally under funded, the outlook for business investment and expansion seems to be globally optimistic. From banking to retail sales, optimism and growth continue to reign supreme.
Of the 300 executives surveyed by Accenture, many were CIOs, CTOs, and department managers. The U.S. companies surveyed had average revenues of $8 billion and were used as a gauge for determining IT spending trends in the immediate upcoming 3 year period.
