Midmarket still investing in IT, says IBM

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 07 July 2009 13:26

IT Industry - Strategy

Gloomy economic conditions aren't stopping midsize companies from investing in IT projects, according to an international report from IBM.

IBM's latest survey of midsized organisations shows they are sticking with their plans for strategic IT initiatives.

"Midmarket organizations openly acknowledge the challenges posed by the current economy, but they aren't paralyzed into inaction. In spite of tough economic conditions and concerns about lack of implementation skills, they are continuing to invest and plan against their key IT projects to support their business goals," said Marc Dupaquier, general manager, IBM Global Midmarket.

IBM's 'Inside the Midmarket: A 2009 Perspective' [PDF, 3.3M] study "clearly shows that midsize companies, which we believe will be the engines that lead us back to economic growth, are being cautiously optimistic and proactive," he added.

The study analysed 1879 responses from 17 countries, including the US, UK, Australia and Canada. Midsized organisation were defined as those with between 100 and 1000 employees.

14 percent of respondents said their IT budgets were increasing, 39 percent reported stable budgets but changing priorities, 10 percent saw no change, and 37 percent had reduced budgets.

So depending on whether you're a doughnut or hole person, you'll either observe that nearly two-thirds have stable or growing budgets, or that over one-third are suffering budget cutbacks.

Not all industries are equal - please read on.