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IT expenditure set to beat inflationFrom the National Computing Centre (NCC), Manchester, UK Expenditure on IT is remaining buoyant despite an uncertain economic outlook. 58% of the respondents to a new survey from the National Computing Centre (The Benchmark of IT Spending 2008) are predicting an above inflation increase in IT expenditure over the twelve months. The median growth rate in IT expenditure reported is 4.9%, (against January's CPI figure of 2.2%) with the construction and health sectors predicting the highest growth. Microsoft is set to be a key beneficiary of the increased spending. Although Windows XP currently dominates the workstation marketplace with 71% of respondents using it, in two year's time Microsoft Vista will be used in 75% of responding organisations. “Users have played cautious with Vista, letting a small band of early adopters iron out any problems. At the same time many organisations are now approaching their desktop refresh cycle and want to exploit enhancements in Vista and Microsoft's Windows Server 2008,” said Stefan Foster, Managing Director of NCC Ltd. The machine that runs Vista is increasingly likely to be a laptop as respondents report that the number of laptop systems will increase by 57% in the next two years, whilst over the same period respondents expect the number of PDAs to grow by 134%. In contrast, the aggregate number of desktops is expected to decline by 2%. Virtualisation and Storage Area Networks also feature prominently on the IT shopping list. Voice over IP remains the most popular communications investment, whilst the growing adoption of ITIL is generating noticeable interest in business process management applications. “We hear talk of a recession, but the Benchmark results indicate that IT purchasers are remaining confident about future economic conditions; they are making sure that their businesses have the right technology to deliver growth over the coming years, but they are not over optimistic,” said Stefan. Typically operational spending averaged 39% of total IT expenditure while staff costs represented 35% of the budget and capital/development spending was 20%. Offshore outsourcing was identified as the biggest growth area for outsourcing. 26% of respondents currently offshore overseas 31% say they will be doing this in 2 year's time. The median level of IT staffing is 29.4 IT staff per 1,000 end users, an increase of 1.3 compared to the previous survey, but there is significant variance between sectors. The benchmark provides an appraisal of IT spending levels and spending ratios, enabling organisations to benchmark their IT spending in support of their decision making. Based on responses from 120 organisations who between them reported an aggregate turnover/revenue of over £32 billion and an aggregate IT spend of just over £750 million. Links to other activitiesFREE Download - Independent Guideline to Virtualisation IT Skills shortages re-emerge (NCC Benchmark of Salaries & Employment Trends in IT) Identity Management Trust & Security a new report Security Vulnerabilities Report Sustainable IT – NCC Annual Conference 2008 About The National Computing Centre (NCC)The National Computing Centre (NCC) is the single largest and most diverse corporate membership body in the UK IT sector. NCC champions the effective deployment of IT to maximise the competitiveness of its members' business, and serves the corporate, vendor and government communities. Press Contact Michael Dean Tel: +44 (0)161 242 2121 |