CEOs say they’ll be more willing to acquire systems next year.
Talk to a corporate treasurer about doing more with less and you’re bound to see his eyes roll skyward. But there’s a ray of hope: treasury could get more technology investment in 2010. That’s because chief executives say they’re willing to boost IT spending next year, according to a Gartner survey of senior executives in the US and the UK.
The consulting firm said that 42 percent of companies it surveyed have started shifting their focus from cost savings to revenue growth, and that IT will be important to achieving that goal. Overall, Gartner said 62 percent of the respondents saw IT as a “key element to their post-recession strategy.” For treasury, this could mean updates to out-dated treasury management systems or more spending on projects that focus on working capital.
And if treasury has to lobby for more IT cash, now is a good time to do it, according to Gartner. At the moment business execs have a positive attitude about IT and how it can help them achieve their 2010 goals.
“A switch in focus from cost to revenue will reshape business-change priorities and in turn will impact the IT project portfolio,” Gartner said in a press release.
For the survey, Gartner polled 190 senior business executives, 81 of whom were CEOs. It examined companies in the US and UK with annual revenues of more than $1 billion and specifically excluded technology service providers and government.