IT Management Tech Still in Demand

Despite the overall decline in IT spending, companies are still investing in technologies that help control costs and enable businesses to work smarter. This according to an Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) report, At the Edge of the Storm: IT Investments from Jan/08 through Feb/09. The findings suggest that while IT spending overall is on the decrease, IT management software appears to be less affected by the downturn.

“Faced with tight budgets and greater accountability in today’s dim economic climate, IT organizations and the businesses they support are turning to technologies that help them work smarter and differently than before,” said Dennis Drogseth, EMA vice president, in a press release. “While our research shows that overall IT spending is down, we found that companies are still spending on management software directed at optimizing and aligning IT investments.”

The report evaluates data from nearly 4,000 EMA survey respondents between January 2008 and February 2009 to identify key trends in IT spending during the time period.

Key findings include:


  • Quarterly trends in IT spending throughout 2008 show a gradual decline in Q3 with a much more marked decline in Q4.

  • January and February 2009 IT dollars show a continuation of this decline in spending, with 46% of budgets on the decrease and 27% on the increase.

  • A comparison between Q1 2008 and Q1 2009 reveals an almost symmetrical

    transformation between increased and decreased IT investments – from 51% increasing early in 2008 to 46% decreasing in early 2009.

  • Industry-specific comparisons for IT budget growth between 2008 and Q1 2009 show a dramatic rise in government’s position and a sharp decline in educational IT budgets, as well as shifting rankings in other areas.

  • Automation and vendor re-evaluation top the charts as strategies for coping with the economic downturn.