Senior decision makers struggle to justify IT spend
Research from Comms specialist Kcom reveals IT decision makers are finding it difficult to demonstrate how IT investment will support business objectives
IT decision makers are finding it more difficult to justify IT spend than ever before, research has revealed.
Managed communication services provider Kcom recently carried out a study to decipher UK organisations' IT investment plans, questioning 1,000 senior IT decision makers across the UK.
Almost a third (32.3 per cent) admitted they had increased their investment in IT over the past year, but nearly three quarters of respondents revealed they will not, or have no immediate plans to invest in IT solutions in the coming year.
Value is vital, the research revealed, with 26 per cent of respondents claiming the number one barrier to IT investment is the inability to demonstrate how the implementation of IT will meet that organisation's business objectives and provide ROI.
In addition 27 per cent of respondents cited lack of board buy-in or the reallocation of strategic resources elsewhere in the organisation as a reason why they are not making any investment in IT solutions.
Sally Fuller, director of strategic propositions at Kcom, said: "This testing economic climate is putting even greater pressure on businesses to justify IT spend and it is understandable that without being able to demonstrate measurable return they are reticent to invest.
"Suppliers have an important role to play in helping identify organisational challenges that technology can help address as well as supporting companies with valuable evidence including accurate investment return calculations. Offering innovative outcome-based contract models is another way of clearly demonstrating meaningful return to all levels of the business, helping to overcome barriers to investment.”
However of the 28 per cent planning to invest in new IT solutions: a significant 46 per cent claim moving to the cloud is their main priority. Other investment areas include managed services (18 per cent), Unified Communications (13 per cent); IP convergence (13 per cent) and contact solutions (10per cent).
On a non-tech front, 36 per cent of these respondents are proritising sales and marketing for investment, and R&D (29 per cent).
Fuller added: “When organisations are focusing on investing in areas that drive business growth, such as sales and marketing, it is a clear call to action for the IT industry to ensure they are providing invaluable advice on selecting the technology that will support these areas and therefore the overall business strategy.”