Upturn in 2007 software spending

IT Services Business Report - November 2006

One-third, or 33%, of users surveyed for the latest ChangeWave Alliance survey of corporate spending for software and IT security said their companies plan to spend more for software in 2007 than they did in 2006. This upturn represents an improvement from the 30% who so indicated in July. Also, 15% said they will spend less, down 2 points from the 17% with the same answer in July.

The top three factors driving software purchasing decisions are as follows: 34% said existing software is getting outdated and must be replaced, 14% said new software capabilities are accelerating the replacement cycle, and 13% said a general improvement in business conditions and capital budgets allow more spending. The July findings were similar.

Of note is that 10% of users cited improved customer service, up from 6% in July 2006. The top three types of software that companies intend to purchase in 2007 include security software at 43%, data storage and management at 27%, and database management at 20%. The July survey showed similar findings.

BUT IT SECURITY SPENDING DOWN

With regard to software security, a total of 47% said their IT software budgets would increase in 2007, compared with 54% in 2006. Breaking that percentage down, 33% said the budget would go up between 1% and 10%, 12% said between 11% and 25%, and only 2% said more than 25%.

The top three kinds of IT security software seeing the greatest increases in spending include anti-virus software at 43%, backup/recovery software at 41% and anti-spyware software at 36%.

Not surprisingly, users said that their top three spending priorities in terms of security software were anti-virus software at 33%, backup/recovery software at 31%, and enterprise/network security software at 25%. Findings were very similar in July.