CIO Budgets and Capital Spending Will Increase in 2010

Over the past decade, companies have spent millions of dollars updating their technology systems and infrastructure in order to stay competitive and maximize their profitability. However, over the last two years, spending fell off dramatically as most businesses were looking to cut costs rather than invest money in their IT systems. Cost cutting isn’t over, but companies are starting to increase their technology spending in 2010. According to the December 2009 CIO Economic Impact Survey, CIO budgets and capital spending are both increasing from the previous years levels. When asked the same question in May 2009 only 14% of respondents said their budgets would be increasing compared to 40% in December 2009.

This is terrific news for companies trying to penetrate new accounts, up-sell current accounts or secure renewals. With that said, the competition going after these newly increased budgets will be extremely competitive. Reps will now need sales enablement resources to help them be the first to the deal and capture the attention and interest of their audience. Now, more than ever, it is crucial to stay on top of prospects and accounts, and using account plans and sales intelligence tools are a great supplement. Decreasing the time spent researching and qualifying prospects, and using that time to begin the relationship building process, can give you a head start on your competition.

Applications, hardware, and mobile/web were the top three areas that CIOs are going to be spending more of their budgets in 2010. New project spending is also predicted to go up, which will contribute to the company’s top line revenue. Most companies indicate they will be spending more of their budgets on their infrastructure and not increasing their employee count or spending budget on consultants. These areas, coupled with the top ten emerging technology trends, are shaping the next decade of IT strategies around cost cutting and greening IT, but productivity and improving the company’s bottom-line are important drivers for those strategies.

- Mark Kilens
mark . kilens@salesquest.com
978-749-9999 ext. 118