There's Still Hope For The Enterprise

That's the word from the June CRN Business Spending Survey, which canvassed 125 IT executives at companies with at least 1,000 employees.

Data from the survey show that 61 percent of large companies plan to increase their IT budgets over the next 12 months. Of these, more than half plan to increase spending by at least 20 percent. Only 13 percent plan to decrease spending, with the remainder planning no change in spending.

These are very solid figures, but solution providers have heard these kinds of optimistic forecasts before. The critical question is how committed are enterprise companies to actually carrying out their spending plans? This is a key point usually missing from forecasts of business technology spending, but CRN has the data.

Some 59 percent of large companies that plan to increase IT budgets indicated they are "extremely committed" to these plans, and the budget increases are already being instituted. Another 21 percent said they are "strongly committed," and the budget increases are very likely to be instituted in the near future. Only 5 percent expressed a "slight commitment" to spending plans.

These figures are better than what CRN has seen for the midsize-company market and are a strong indication that big firms planning to increase technology spending actually will do so over the next 12 months. As a result, the long wait for a sustained revival in enterprise spending soon could be over, and solution providers that are positioned to take advantage of these opportunities will see their patience well-rewarded.

What are your thoughts? Let me know via phone at (732) 919-1530 or e-mail at [email protected].