Survey predicts boost for IT budgets

The outlook for IT budgets for 2004 is the most positive it has been for three years, according to the findings of the latest edition of IDC's annual user survey.

IDC is a global market intelligence and advisory firm in the information technology and telecommunications industries. They analyze and predict technology trends.

One of the key metrics that IDC has used over the years to assess the dynamics of the Irish IT market is to check on increases and decreases in end-user spending.

This year, a total of 43% of organisations claim their IT budgets will be higher than last year, with only 23% expecting a decrease.

"In the surveys of 2002 and 2003, the findings were 'neutral', with a similar number of organisations expecting increases and decreases. However, this year we see signs that the purse strings are loosening," said John Gilsenan, a consultant with IDC Ireland.