Stand by for growth in business-led IT during 2010, says Gartner

Preliminary results from the survey also show 42% of business leaders are already focusing more on revenue growth than cost control for 2010. Gartner's slightly surprising, not to say premature, findings come from a web-based study of US and UK companies with revenues of more than $1 billion, and was conducted in the third quarter of 2009. "These preliminary results will help CIOs and their teams with the planning and budgeting work they are doing in the next few months," comments Mark Raskino, research vice president and Gartner fellow. "Business leaders are gasping for growth after a long period holding their breath, and they are expecting to increase the importance of IT in their post-recession approach." He believes that CIOs need to review business leaders' "rapidly changing tactical business priorities and often unstated new expectations of where IT can help" as the economy turns. "CIOs … should also take advantage of business leader's relatively positive attitude towards IT investment during budget negotiations," insists Raskino. Two points are worth particular attention: first, 29% of business leaders expect to see a return to revenue growth as their primary focus in 2010; and second, business leaders' investment attitude towards IT is now reasonably positive. Gartner's survey shows that, in addition to the 43% of respondents who will increase IT investment, 45% say they will keep the same IT investment level, while only 13% expect a decrease. "These findings reinforce Gartner's IT spending forecast of 3.3% growth in 2010," observes Raskino. "With this warm attitude to IT, CIOs should stand their ground if peers attempt to gain investment share at IT's expense." And if you're wondering about the validity of those views, they come from190 senior business executives, 81 of whom were CEOs.