VARs look to cash in as budgets set to rise
KPMG report claims medium-sized business IT spend will increase this year
The IT expenditure of medium-sized businesses will increase by an average of 31 per cent this year, according to a survey by KPMG.
The accountancy firm questioned 100 medium-sized businesses with revenues of between £5m and £500m.
"Over the past two years budgets have been cut and IT spending has dropped. This is a sign of an upturn," said Richard Boreham, director of IT strategy for the UK at KPMG.
The figures are in contrast to other recent IT spending reports. Earlier this month IDC was forced to lower its global IT spending growth expectations, following weaker than expected economies in Europe and Japan.
"For resellers it follows that some of the spending increase will flow back into the channel. However, businesses will be spending more efficiently than they have in the past," Boreham said.
Not everyone agreed with the results. Jonathan Wall, EMEA marketing director at dabs.com, said: "These figures don't ring true for us. In this sector there isn't a lot of volume growth. Price is the absolute driving force now, which means increased competition for the channel."
Steve Derbyshire, managing director of Telamon, agreed: "Sales are either static or going up a little bit. The figures sound a bit high and most of our customers are spending their budgets on specific projects, rather than general IT kit."