Software driving IT investment to 'record high'
Figures released by BNP Paribas show business investment in IT and comms technology has increased by a quarter since financial crisis
In positive news for the channel, investment in IT technology smashed the £34bn barrier in 2014, up 24 per cent since the height of the recession in 2009.
The leasing specialist also claimed that private sector IT investment has now exceeded its pre-crisis peak of £30.9bn in 2008.
This growth, according to BNP Paribas, is being driven by investment in software, which has increased by six per cent in the past year from £25.8bn in 2013 to £27.5bn last year.
And software now accounts for 80 per cent of businesses’ IT capital expenditure, up from 74 per cent a decade ago.
These latest figures also revealed businesses spent a total of £6.9bn on software in the first quarter of this year alone.
Tristan Watkins, UK country manager at BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions, said: “Investment in software is surging ahead because while most hardware has become relatively cheap and increasingly standardised, developments in software are advancing all the time.”
“Whether that’s industry- or application-specific software such as accounting or design packages, supply chain management programmes or sophisticated security software, businesses know that the right software will help them to be more efficient or provide better customer service than their competitors.”
The firm also claimed that as IT investment continues to rise, so will the investment in managed services, to help keep costs under control.
Watkins added: “With businesses increasing their capital investment, they want to keep their IT budget under strict control, but without the worries about data security that could come with switching to the cloud.
“Combining a monthly fee with an on-site service would offer the best of both worlds; helping businesses to keep any in-house IT function lean, and acquire expertise that they do not have themselves, without running up unexpected and unbudgeted costs.”