IT spending growth: machines but not people

Jake Widman
Tuesday, 03 November 2009 03:36

IT Industry - Market

Surveys indicate that U.S. IT managers are ready to start spending money again. But while the steep drop in IT employment over the past year may be slowing, managers aren't ready to start hiring again.

In a survey of "IT decision makers" conducted by the research arm of computer reseller CDW, 67% of respondents said they planned major hardware purchases in the next six months. Among large businesses (1,000 employees or more), the proportion grew to 81%.

Those numbers are the highest since October 2008.

"Hardware refresh cycles have been pushed to limits we've rarely seen," said CDW Monitor executive Mark Gambill, "and anticipated investment in this area is encouraging as companies prepare for a larger economic recovery."

Unfortunately for IT workers, the respondents aren't making the same plans to spend on staffing. "The down side is that the percentage of organizations planning investments in IT staffing has held steady and in some cases has declined," said Gambill.

The silver lining to that statement is the "held steady" part. Eighty-one percent of respondents expected staffing levels to stay where they are for the next six months, which at least means they don't expect them to decrease.

That echoes a report from industry group TechServe Alliance, which found that only 1,100 IT jobs disappeared in September, compared to nearly 250,000 lost over the past year.

According to a story in Computerworld, Alliance CEO Mark Roberts said that "Folks are very optimistic about the future based on what they are hearing from their clients. They feel there is a lot of pent-up demand."

But the first workers to benefit from that demand will likely be consultants and contract workers rather than full-time staff.