Technology spending heads skywards

Research from Virgin Media Business shows an upturn in IT spend is on the cards

More than half of UK firms are planning to increase their IT budgets this year according to research from Virgin Media Business.

The firm quizzed CIOs and IT managers from over 1,000 public and private sector organisations in the UK, and 57 per cent of those questioned said they expected IT spending to grow in 2014.

Virgin Media’s figures also claimed that 26.4 per cent felt IT investment had increased productivity, and 11 per cent felt tech spending had "created a happier workforce". A further 22.6 per cent felt technology had been a good cost-cutting driver.

Peter Kelly, managing director of Virgin Media Business, said: “There is a far greater understanding of the huge business benefits that investment in technology can drive in the UK, both in commercial performance and cultural change. It’s great to see that this investment is on the up, as ultimately this will go on to drive large parts of the economy.

“Digital technology offers benefits to business like nothing else. It has a unique power to transform organisations and the way people work, far beyond the IT department. “As the economy moves back into growth after years of decline, many companies are now planning to invest in technology, further boosting that part of the economy which already provides around eight per cent of GDP."

However, every silver lining has a cloud, and despite the positive response, 21.5 per cent of respondents admitted to making no investment in IT at all last year.