Delayed spending, mounting confusion and talent exodus: global IT industry pessimistic about Brexit

UK IT pros are chipper about how Brexit will affect IT industry, but colleagues around the world are less so

UK IT professionals are significantly more optimistic about the country's IT market following Brexit than their colleagues around the world are, according to new research, which shows global IT pros fear for the UK's job prospects and investment opportunities.

Since the UK voted in June to leave the EU, the jury has been out on what the long-term impact will be on the IT industry. So far, major hardware vendors such as Dell and HPE have raised their UK prices by 10 per cent, as revealed by CRN, in response to the plummeting value of the pound against the US dollar.

A new survey from SpiceWorks, which questioned IT pros from the UK, US, and the rest of the world, found that the UK industry is more optimistic about the long-term impact of Brexit, while those from outside the UK disagree.

The research found that just over a quarter (27 per cent) of UK IT staff believed that the country will lose influence on the global IT industry, but 37 per cent of IT pros from around the world believed the same.

There was a similar disparity on security: just nine per cent of UK IT pros believe Brexit will make the UK more vulnerable to a hack, with 19 per cent of global IT staff thinking it will be the case.

IT staff from the UK and the rest of the world could agree on some things though: 33 per cent and 34 per cent respectively said they think Brexit will discourage tech talent from working in the UK. Both British and global IT pros agreed that Brexit is causing uncertainty and confusion in the UK market.