April 14, 2009, 11:21 AM — Despite a challenging economy, seven out of 10 CIOs interviewed recently said their companies will invest in information technology (IT) initiatives in the next 12 months. Information security topped the list of projects executives expect their firms to invest in, with 43 percent of the response, followed by virtualization (28 percent) and data center efficiency (27 percent).
CIOs were asked, "Which areas, if any, will your IT department be investing in over the next 12 months?" Multiple answers were permitted. Percentages reflect responses from 70 percent of the 1,400 CIOs who plan to invest in IT. The survey was conducted in January 2009 and developed by Robert Half Technology.
The top five areas of IT investment that were cited most frequently were:
1. Information security (43 percent): In any economy, protecting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information is a must-have for companies of all sizes. Technology executives in the financial services and transportation sectors cited security most often, with 59 percent and 58 percent of the responses, respectively.
2. Virtualization (28 percent): Added budget pressures are forcing many companies to focus on more cost-effective solutions for servers, storage and networking. Virtualization tools enable greater consolidation, lower hardware costs, and reduced space and power requirements. Nearly four in 10 (39 percent) CIOs at large (1,000+ employees) and midsize (500 to 999 employees) companies plan to invest in this area.
3. Data center efficiency (27 percent): Improving efficiency within the data center to achieve longer-term cost savings is a top priority for organizations pressured to cut back on IT spending. Companies are realizing that by not improving efficiency, it will result in the need for more costly expansions and upgrades in the future.
4. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) (26 percent): Lower monthly phone bills, greater network flexibility and unified messaging, which allows users to more efficiently retrieve messages, are among the benefits that companies realize when they invest in VoIP technology.
5. Software as a Service (SaaS) (26 percent): Subscribing to SaaS -- rather than purchasing software licenses -- is a particularly attractive option for businesses with tight IT budgets. Since applications and data are stored and hosted on the Internet and accessed remotely, this model removes the burden of maintenance, support, software license upgrades and equipment from end users.
Rounding out the top 10 list of IT investment areas:
6. Green IT (20 percent)
7. Business intelligence (19 percent)
8. Social networking (18 percent)
9. Web 2.0 (17 percent)
10.Outsourcing (16 percent)
About the Survey
The national survey was developed by Robert Half Technology, a provider of information technology professionals on a project and full-time basis, and conducted by an independent research firm. The survey is based on more than 1,400 telephone interviews with CIOs from a random sample of U.S. companies with 100 or more employees. In order for the survey to be statistically representative and ensure that companies from all segments were represented, the sample was stratified by geographic region, industry and number of employees. The results were then weighted to reflect the proper proportions of the number of employees within each region.
About Robert Half Technology
With more than 100 locations worldwide, Robert Half Technology is a leading provider of information technology professionals for initiatives ranging from web development and multiplatform systems integration to network security and technical support. Robert Half Technology offers online job search services at www.rht.com.
