It Budgets: Drivers, Trends and Concerns in 2016

IT BUDGETS
Drivers, trends and concerns in 2016
Written by Mary Shacklett

Data analysis by Meghann Agarwal
October 2015
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CONTENTS
Introduction-------------------------------------------------------------- 4
Key findings------------------------------------------------------------- 4
Understanding the IT budget------------------------------------------ 5
IT budget trends for 2016---------------------------------------------- 6
Who creates the IT budget?-------------------------------------------- 9
Who approves the IT budget?---------------------------------------- 10
Comparison of 2015 and 2016 budgets----------------------------- 12
Comparison of 2015 and 2016 priorities----------------------------- 13
What IT worries are on the minds of companies?------------------- 16
IT initiatives for 2016--------------------------------------------------- 18
Aligning priorities with the budget------------------------------------ 19
Risk management and security breaches---------------------------- 20
The budget review process------------------------------------------- 21
How budget approvals are obtained--------------------------------- 22
How IT vendors can assist in the budgetary process--------------- 23
Conclusion-------------------------------------------------------------- 24
Survey respondent demographics------------------------------------ 25
Survey methodology--------------------------------------------------- 29
About us---------------------------------------------------------------- 30

IT BUDGETS: DRIVERS, TRENDS AND CONCERNS IN 2016
4
Introduction
IT budgets vary in size by industry and geographical area—and even by whom the ultimate decision makers in
the organization are when it comes to budget. While each company’s technology investment situation is unique,
the key drivers in companies behind how technology is perceived and how much is invested are how much these
technology investments can directly contribute to revenue gains and operational savings. Accordingly, technology
as a competitive differentiator plays a larger role in some industries than it does in others.
When planning and budgeting for technology, those determining the initial IT budgets must also go head to head
at the budget table against other business areas as they compete for a limited number of dollars. Understandably,
IT budget proposals must be well researched and they must demonstrate that the technology investments they
are advocating will be rapidly repaid in some kind of tangible business benefit that the company will be able to
recognize. Many times these IT paybacks and results are expected in a matter of months after the technology is
implemented.
Most importantly, these IT investments must deliver projects and value that either drive business revenues, cut
costs or contribute to a planned build-out of an IT infrastructure that will sustain the company as it expands for the
long term.
In August 2015, Tech Pro Research conducted an online survey on the key drivers and persons of IT budgetary
decision making and funding in 2016 by examining the projects and business initiatives that companies are most
likely to plan, and how they anticipate funding these projects. The report is drawn from 201 survey respondents
who represent a cross-section of industries, global regions, and company sizes that range from very small firms to
very large enterprises. A majority of respondents come from IT management.
Key findings
Year to year IT budgets remain flat (plus or minus 10%, which is in line with historical trends).
The IT budget creation process begins with IT middle managers and key technical contributors.
Outside IT consultants play a major role in recommending technologies that organizations adopt.
Final IT budget approval occurs at the level of the CFO or the CEO.
Most new IT projects approved in budgets are driven by specific business initiatives.
To sell their budgets, IT decision makers prefer technology investments that can be expensed
operationally, and not as longer term capital expenses.
Those approving IT budgets want to see return on investment (ROI) and total cost of ownership (TCO)
projections for the IT projects that they are considering for approval.
More companies are choosing to in-source rather than to outsource IT.

5
Because more companies are in-sourcing staff, training in vital skills is an important IT budget item for
2016.
Top project focuses in IT in 2016 are security, governance and networks.
Understanding the IT budget

PLANNED SIZE OF FISCAL OR CALENDAR YEAR 2016 IT BUDGET
Number of respondents, n=138

Figure A
At least 71% of survey respondents were familiar with their IT budgets and how these budgets were constructed.
Of these respondents, 36% were directly responsible for their IT budgets and another 48% were involved in
determining their IT budgets.
Most importantly for companies selling into the IT market is the presence of many small and medium sized
businesses (SMBs) that have IT needs to fill. Dollar for dollar, these companies don’t match the individual spends
of large enterprises, but their cumulative market opportunity is substantial.

6
To illustrate, 25% of companies surveyed anticipate 2016 IT budgets in the $1 million to $9.9 million range; and
another 39% of companies are forecasting IT budgets for 2016 between $100,000 and $1 million. Together, this
represents 64% of IT budgets in a range that begins with small and mid-sized companies and then extends into
enterprise spending ranges. An additional 9% of large enterprises are forecasting IT budgets between $10 million
and $500 million dollars. The message for vendors that target these large enterprises for major sales is to extend
selling efforts (and to right-size products and services) to also capitalize on the mid-range IT market that more than
60% of IT budgets fall under.
IT budget trends for 2016

PLANNED SIZE OF FISCAL OR CALENDAR YEAR 2016 IT BUDGET COMPARED TO 2015

Figure B
IT budgets in 2016 will continue their recent history of remaining relatively flat when compared to the prior year’s
budget. There is room for a 10% upward or downward fluctuation from the 2015 budget baseline, which means
that 73% of survey respondents anticipate that their budgets for 2016 will be within 10% of what they were
in 2015. It is also noteworthy that 23% of survey respondents project that there will be substantial IT budget
increases between 2015 and 2016.

7
PLANNED SIZE OF FISCAL OR CALENDAR YEAR 2016 IT BUDGET (BY REGION)
Increased No change Decreased

Figure C
Geographically, the most aggressive percentage increases in IT spend between 2015 and 2016 are occurring in
the Asia-Pacific, where IT infrastructures continue to get built out in China and India; and in Africa, which is still
comparatively underdeveloped, so would naturally reflect a greater percentage increase in IT budgets from year
to year as the region begins to catch up to other areas of the world. Surprisingly, the U.S., a mature IT market,
is closely keeping pace with Asia-Pacific and Africa in the percentage increase in IT budgets between 2015 and
2016. Meanwhile, IT budget growth in Canada, Europe and South and Central America are flat or lagging.
PLANNED SIZE OF FISCAL OR CALENDAR YEAR 2016 IT BUDGET (BY INDUSTRY)
Increased No change Decreased

Figure D

8
The healthcare industry, where 89% of respondents say that their IT budgets for 2016 will increase, has adopted a
strategy of purchasing startup technology companies that they already use for products and services, according
to Modern Healthcare. This has particularly been an active strategy in the US. Also in the U.S., hospitals and
clinics are investing into telehealth and the extension of electronic medical records so patients and others with
authorization to see these records can use them. Mobile and cloud-based platforms are facilitating a plethora of
wearable and portable devices for doctors and clinicians—and healthcare institutions are continuing to invest in
robust internal and external wired and wireless networks with high quality of service (QoS) to support all of these
devices. Finally, analytics engines like IBM Watson are making inroads as research and diagnostic tools that assist
institutions in not only administering care to individuals, but in taking a look at their immediate demographics, so
they can begin to link certain diseases or conditions to specific populations or geographical areas.
Not far behind healthcare is manufacturing, which is projecting an 82% increase in IT budgets. Mobile technology
and network build-outs lead the way in new IT investment, since if there is to be an Internet of Things (IoT) where
machines talk to other machines on the manufacturing floor, there has to be a network backbone that is robust
enough to support all of these devices. Also relevant to manufacturing is the transition of manufacturing facilities
into more robotics and automation. This trend alone has enabled the U.S. to cut production costs and to compete
as a manufacturing option with other low-cost manufacturing operations in the Asia-Pacific region.
Other industry sectors forecasting major increases in their IT budgets for 2016 are IT and Technology (78%),
government (78% and finance/banking/insurance (73%). Key technology drivers in these industries are analytics,
security, mobile communications and networks.

9
Who creates the IT budget?

JOB TITLE OF PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR DEVELOPING IT BUDGET

Figure E
Although CIOs and other C-level executives make final IT budget decisions, the original drafting of the IT budget
for nearly half of all survey respondents begins at the departmental level in IT. Security and networking proposals
originate with the network administrator or manager. Likewise, application development toolset recommendations
are championed by the applications development manager. In large enterprise IT organizations, there are also
chief technical experts (e.g. the data architect, a senior system programmer or a distinguished engineer) who are
relied upon for research and purchase recommendations in the initial IT statement of the budget. Trusted outside
technical consultants are also asked for their technology recommendations
From the CIO’s perspective, this makes sense. CIOs have to keep their eyes focused on broader IT and business
strategies. Consequently, they rely on their department heads and/or technical gurus to look at available tools and
solutions in the marketplace that are needed to carry out IT’s mission, and to make the recommendations.
For smaller organizations, the IT budget drafting dynamic works differently. For instance, 38% of survey
respondents indicated that a C-level officer (the CEO, the CFO or the CIO) actually drafted the IT budget. Many of
these organizations might have only one or two persons in their IT departments, with neither of the persons having
the training or experience required to draft a budget. In other cases, an enterprise might have a remote office in
another country, or a small field office in its home country where it makes sense for a local official (e.g., manager of
the French field office) to draft the IT budget. Of non-IT C-level executives, the job of budget drafting is most likely
to fall to the CFO, as many small companies have their IT departments reporting to the CFO.

10
Who approves the IT budget?

JOB TITLE OF PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR APPROVING FINAL IT BUDGET

Figure F
In large enterprises and SMBs, the ultimate budget decisions are corporate-wide, and the IT budget is part of that
process. Survey data reflects this: 74% (nearly three-quarters) of organizations of all sizes require signoff from the
CEO or CFO before the IT budget can be finalized. This makes it imperative for those proposing the IT budget to
build effective business cases and cost justifications for their IT investments. The better they can demonstrate a
“payoff” for the company in the form of a revenue increase or a cost savings, the better the chance that they will
see an IT investment approved. In some cases (12% in this survey), respondents indicated that someone other
than the CEO, CFO, CIO, CISO/CSO or some other IT official was pushing the IT budget through. Most likely, this
was an executive from the end business who was able to create a compelling case for an IT investment. Over the
past two years, more technology vendors have focused on these end business executives in their sale efforts—but
in one major sense the IT budget approval process hasn’t changed much. It still must pass by the CEO or CFO to
gain final approval.

11
PERCENTAGE OF CORPORATE TECHNOLOGY SPENDING IN

BUSINESS END USER BUDGETS AND NOT IN THE IT BUDGET

Figure G
The past few years have also seen more IT vendors focus on end business managers in their sales efforts.
However, survey respondents indicated that most IT spending goes through IT and not end business areas. These
results may be skewed by the fact that respondents may not have full visibility of all of the IT spending that goes
on in the organization, but it does clearly indicate that IT is an integral part of the IT procurement process.

12
Comparison of 2015 and 2016 budgets

EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT’S OPINION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THE
IT BUDGET COMPARED TO OTHER BUSINESS UNITS

Figure H
The CEO or CFO takes charge of finalizing and approving the corporate budget because it is one proven method
companies have employed to guarantee that every department’s budget arguments are heard, and then vetted
against corporate strategy to see where budget dollars are best applied. This reality is reflected in survey data,
as nearly one half (49%) of all survey respondents said that the IT budget is perceived by upper management as
equally important to the budgets proffered by other departments. In some cases (35%), there is a perception that
the IT budget is perceived by upper management as less important than the budgets from other departments—
but it is important to note that this is a measure of perception, not reality. As previously noted, major technology
investments in 2016 are occurring in healthcare, manufacturing, IT and technology, government, and finance/
banking/insurance. It is becoming increasingly apparent to today’s CEOs and CFOs that if companies are to get
ahead in their strategies, technology is the best enabler. The situation might be a little different in small companies
that must focus first on their core businesses, and that don’t have a lot left over to spend on technology—but even
these companies are investing in mobile technology, security, networks and cloud applications.

13
Comparison of 2015 and 2016 priorities

IT BUDGET PRIORITIES FOR FISCAL OR CALENDAR YEAR 2015
Number of respondents, n=138 Not a priority Minor priority

Figure I Medium priority Major priority
In 2015, corporate IT priorities revolved around improving operational efficiencies and ensuring business
continuation. Some of these objectives were met by investing into disaster recovery and security. There was also
a focus on reducing exposures to risk, while continuing to ratchet down the costs of internal cost centers like IT.
The last item that survey respondents ranked on their major priority over 20% of the time was business process
automation. In total, these priorities indicate a highly focused attention to improving organizational performance,
while reducing risks and ensuring that the business would continue to function through any unforeseen disastrous
event. Interestingly, mobile deployment and investments into public and private clouds and even business
analytics and customer-facing applications were not as robust as many in the industry had anticipated. What the

14
overall 2015 priority picture instead reflected was a conscious focus by companies on improving the efficiency
levels of their internal processes and ensuring that company information assets were well protected and able
to function in even the toughest of disastrous circumstances. Where it was absolutely required, companies also
chose to invest in bolstering their IT infrastructures in order to enable these initiatives. A strong IT governance
practice was clearly at the forefront of this thinking.
IT BUDGET PRIORITIES FOR FISCAL OR CALENDAR YEAR 2016
Number of respondents, n=138 Not a priority Minor priority

Figure J Medium priority Major priority

15
In 2016, the same set of IT priorities that were stressed in 2015 continue to dominate, but there are subtle shifts
in corporate IT thinking. Most notable is the upward shift in mobile device management, now that organizations
have bolstered their security processes in 2015. Mobile user device management is a growing concern because
companies are recognizing the security and risk impact of policies like BYOD (bring your own device) and mobile
application deployment in the field. The need for more business process improvements is also beginning to shift
to IT itself, which has upped the prioritization of simplifying and automating many internal IT processes. One
popular internal IT initiative is the creation of more self-service portals into IT services for end users. Another is the
automation of many processes that were formerly done manually, like the creation and deployment of a new virtual
operating system instance. Big data and analytics are also beginning to gain traction—not so much as high priority
items (although respondents increased their high priority rating of big data/analytics by a full five percentage
points), but by the eight percentage point reduction of big data/analytics as a low priority item. It is likely that big
data/analytics will grow as a high priority item over the next three to five years as more analytics applications
become available that require less internal expertise within the company to run them.

16
What IT worries are on the minds of companies?

TOP IT CONCERNS FOR FISCAL OR CALENDAR YEAR 2016
Number of respondents, n=138 Not a concern Minor concern

Figure K Medium concern Major concern

17
The IT “worry” picture correlates closely to the set of priorities that IT has defined for itself. In both 2015 and 2016,
IT budgetary priorities centered around security and governance—and in 2016, 57% of survey respondents said
that network security will be a top concern. Most likely, corporate auditors have pointed out security weaknesses
in systems that companies are now trying to fix so they can avoid security intrusions and risky business situations.
A secondary concern is cost containment and the creation of organizational efficiencies with the help of
technology. Companies are well past the economic meltdown of 2008, but it appears that most have adopted
a long term and possibly permanent strategy of squeezing out as much from their operations and their IT at the
least cost as is practicable. This makes IT (always perceived as an internal cost center) especially conscious about
creating an image of worthiness in the eyes of other users, and is probably why 33% of respondents said that
improving service responsiveness was a vital concern. This service responsiveness concern pertains to the end
business as well as to IT, as customers are no longer willing to wait for lengthy order fulfillments, or for answers to
their questions. If technology can help in this area, companies are going to invest in it.
Business process automation (31% of respondents listed it as a concern) and decreasing IT spending (20%
rated it as a concern) continue to be concerns that are generated by the lean operations at least cost philosophy
that organizations of all sizes are pursuing. At the same time, however, an “aggressive” use of IT is emerging
that will continue to increase as a concern over the next few years. This aggressive IT approach is reflected in
concerns about how quickly IT solutions can be delivered that will support corporate revenue generation (27% of
respondents listed this as a concern) and how quickly new applications that business users are demanding can be
created and deployed by IT (23% of respondents are concerned about this). Underlying this aggressive IT concern
forecast is a general concern that IT may not be ready with the right skillsets and training (21% of respondents are
concerned about this) to support these up and coming business initiatives.

18
IT initiatives for 2016

IT INITIATIVES BEING PLANNED TO PURSUE TO ACHIEVE PRIORITIES
IN FISCAL OR CALENDAR YEAR 2016

Figure L
IT initiatives for 2016 among survey respondents closely correlated to IT budget and high concern priorities.
Improving business operational efficiencies and tightening up security and governance lead the way, with an
additional emphasis on network availability and performance that is needed to support the growing numbers of
mobile devices, and also the security of both mobile devices and the network. Lagging behind these initiatives
but of significance to IT is an emphasis on the training of IT personnel for the IT skills needed in the business. It
would appear that companies are choosing to invest in their own internal people, where possible—and that they
are steering away from outsourcing their mission-critical applications. The goal is to invest in a workforce and then
work on training programs and internal promotions to ensure that key talent remains onboard with the company. At
the same time that this is happening, there has been a corresponding growth in HR talent management software
market according to HR Zone —with the corporate goals of identifying key skills in the corporate workforce, as
well as key employees whom training should be invested in.

19
Aligning priorities with the budget

HOW PRIORITIES FIT IN FISCAL OR CALENDAR YEAR 2016 IT BUDGET PLANS
No plan to implement
Already fully implemented
Figure M
Plan to implement in next 12 months
Plan to implement in next 1-2 years
At some point, IT has to align corporate and IT priorities and concerns with actual hardware and software
investments. As shown in the graph above, significant work has already been accomplished in IT resource
virtualization, web applications and cloud service applications and service enablement. In 2016, IT training
will be a major initiative (60% of survey respondents plan to institute it in the next twelve months). Focus on
organizational endpoints like mobile devices, coupled with refreshes of PC hardware and operating systems, will
also be evident. The work on data backup, recovery and archiving that organizations already started in 2015 will
continue. New areas where organizations will begin their planning and implementation that will carry over into the
next two to three years will continue to be network endpoints, mobile device management and deployment, and
also cloud applications and services. One question that IT will have to address is whether IT training and staff
development can keep pace with an IT model that is changing over to cloud-based service delivery on any device
anywhere, with industrial strength security and governance in place. This is the direction where IT is heading.

20
Risk management and security breaches

HOW SECURITY PLANS FIT IN FOR FISCAL OR CALENDAR YEAR 2016
No plan to implement
Already fully implemented
Figure N
Plan to implement in next 12 months
Plan to implement in next 1-2 years
Risk management, security breaches and monetary and brand damage to companies have been well documented
over the past few years. Consequently, nearly every company has already invested substantial time and money to
insulate itself from these threats. As new threats and threat awareness emerge, new technologies will continue to
be adopted.
As a result, most companies now have web filtering and anti virus/anti-malware technologies in place, along with
continuous network monitoring. 41% of survey respondents said that they would continue to implement network
monitoring over the next twelve months, but for most of the technologies mentioned above, they are at points of
maturity where they will be continuously enhanced but not newly implemented.
Where we are seeing an attention shift in security is in identity management and authentication. In this area, 29%
of respondents said they will be implementing new technologies in the next twelve months, and 23% expect that
they will continue to invest in this area over the next two to three years. Intrusion detection (39% of respondents
said they will be implementing it over the next twelve months and 10% will continue to implement over the next
two-three years) and data loss protection (42% plan to implement in the next twelve months and 20% over the
next two-three years) are also major areas of IT security activity.
This is likely the outcome of auditor visits that have assessed more mature security systems like malware and virus
detection as satisfactory, but have told companies that they need to do more in security areas like data loss and
intrusion detection.

21
The budget review process

IMPACT OF CURRENT ECONOMIC CONDITIONS ON IT BUDGET FOR
FISCAL OR CALENDAR YEAR 2015

Figure O
Regardless of the priorities and budget targets that are set for IT projects, 57% of survey respondents say that
their IT budgets are now more frequently reviewed than in the past. Business has forced these frequent budget
reviews, which are often done on a quarterly basis and are based on upward or downward revisions of corporate
revenues and costs. The end results are either delays in short-term projects (40% of respondents said that they
have been affected this way) or reductions in the IT budget (38% of respondents have seen this). In other cases,
especially when revenue forecasts are being exceeded, 35% of respondents have seen their IT budgets increased.
The corporate goal, for IT and all other budgets, is to keep the budget as a “living” document that can be upwardly
or downwardly adjusted to stay in step with overall corporate performance. Because these budgets are variable, it
is advantageous for IT when it can make operational commitments on IT services and products that are delivered
and paid for on demand. With this flexibility, IT can either choose to reduce or increase usage (e.g. an on-demand
cloud service can be used more or less, as can the services of an outside consultant). The business case must be
more firmly established for a capital IT commitment that requires depreciation of hardware or software over a three
to five year timeframe and that becomes a fixed expense that can’t be varied.

22
How budget approvals are obtained

HOW IT BUDGET APPROVALS ARE OBTAINED ON SPECIFIC PROJECTS OR INITIATIVES

Figure P
An overwhelming 72% of survey respondents said that IT projects gain approval if they support an important
business initiative, or if an IT project is seen as being necessary for the overall welfare of the company. A lesser
number of respondents (59%) also said that their companies recognize when IT assets are exhausted and must be
replaced as a necessity of business. Additionally, 40% of respondents said that an IT project was more likely to be
approved if they could show the expense as an operational expense that could be turned on or off instead of as a
capital expense that goes on the asset books as a fixed expense that is spread and depreciated over three to five
years.
In the project approval process, the CIO is still a significant “champion” of projects that get approved, but it is also
noteworthy that 7% of budget project approvals come from others besides the CIO. These most often are key
influencers in the business who are able to push an IT initiative through.
It also appears that organizations have reached a point where those who sit in budget approval positions are
demanding to see mathematical projections of return on investment (ROI) and/or total cost of ownership (TCO).
For large projects, the ROI or TCO is expected to be recouped over three years—but for most projects, ROI/TCO
is expected after one year (or at least the investment should be at a break-even point). These are high hurdles for
IT practitioners to achieve and to demonstrate, especially in cases where they are upgrading the internals of IT
infrastructure and it is difficult to demonstrate tangible results. ROI/TCO development and business case proof
points are areas where IT vendors can offer assistance, if they can apply their methodology to the company’s
specific situation.

23
How IT vendors can assist in the budgetary

process
HOW IT VENDORS CAN BETTER ASSIST WITH YOUR BUDGETARY PROCESS

Figure Q
Companies look for IT vendors to clearly explain the technologies they are selling and how the technologies will
benefit the company’s business. They will often ask vendors to show their technologies “in action”—in the form
of a pilot project or a proof of concept. They want uncomplicated pricing and licensing from vendors—and they
expect vendors to assist them in putting together the ROIs and TCOs that their organizational superiors will most
certainly ask for.
Vendors can also offer flexible financing options that are helpful to IT decision makers—especially if their
companies are having difficult years. Vendors that offer buyback programs for older technology, or leasing
programs that enable companies to outlay less upfront cash, can find themselves in good positions.

24
Conclusion
In two respects, IT budgetary planning today is closely aligned to historical trends: budgets year to year remain
relatively flat (plus or minus 10% variation); and while mid-level IT managers and senior technical staff recommend
what goes into the IT budget, it is CIOs, CFOs and CEOs who approve it. Also in the mix as key influencers of the
IT budget are trusted outside consultants in technical specialties that IT relies on.
What is different about IT budget planning when contrasted with historical planning is that companies now
want greater flexibility with the IT budget. Based upon overall business conditions, companies want the ability
to expand or contract the IT budget. Consequently, IT budget developers look for budgetary items that can be
expensed (and adjusted operationally) instead of capital expenditures that function as fixed expenses over a set
number of years of depreciation. IT vendors that respond to this trend with on-demand, by-subscription offerings,
or capital offerings where the vendor can step in with attractive financing options or older technology buyback
plans, have a greater chance of success to survive in the IT budget. Likewise, vendors that can assist IT decision
makers with meaningful technology ROI and TCO calculations that resonate with the company’s business stand a
greater chance of success.
In the ROI/TCO process, IT decision makers are being challenged to deliver paybacks on investments within three
years of purchase for major projects, and often within one year of purchase for smaller projects. In short, they
need to show how IT investments pay for themselves quickly. IT is also being asked to align IT purchases with
specific business initiatives so the company can see a tangible value in IT investments.
IT leaders will continue to invest in security, governance and networks in 2016, as they did in 2015. At the same
time, they also recognize that the winds are shifting into new technology areas like big data/analytics. They are
concerned about the ability of their staffs to deal with these new technologies, so there will be considerable
emphasis on in-house IT staff training in 2016. This is part of a general trend for IT to in-source mission-critical
work, and to retain valuable human capital that can give companies a strategic talent edge over competitors in the
foreseeable future.

25
Survey respondent demographics

RESPONDENTS’ PRIMARY JOB FUNCTION
Other
IT staff
IT manager
IT consultant
Executive IS/IT management

(CIO, CTO)
Executive management
(Chairman, CEO, CFO, Partner)

Figure R
69% of all respondents were IT management or outside IT consultants.

26
RESPONDENTS’ PRIMARY INDUSTRY SECTOR
Mining
Real Estate/Property Development
Online/Web/ISP/ASP
Logistics & Transport
Legal & Professional
Automotive/Aerospace
Entertainment
Utilities
Telecommunications
Media/Publishing/Advertising
Business Services/Consulting
Engineering & Construction
Retail & Wholesale
Non-Profit
Healthcare
Government
Education
Other (Please specify)
Manufacturing (FMCG)
Finance/Banking/Insurance
IT & Technology

Figure S
Survey respondents were distributed across a broad span of industries, with IT & Technology companies showing
the greatest single percentage of respondents (13%).

27
RESPONDENTS’ REGION
India
Australia / New Zealand
Canada
Central or South America
Africa
Europe
Asia-Pacific
US

Figure T
Nearly half (49%) of all survey respondents were from North America.

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NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES AT RESPONDENTS’ ORGANIZATIONS
1000 or more
250-999
50-249
Fewer than 50

Figure U
84% of survey respondents were from small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) with full-time employee counts
under 1,000.

29
Survey methodology
This Tech Pro Research survey was conducted online. It was open to individuals around the globe during August
2015. The survey was promoted to the ZDNet, TechRepublic and Tech Pro Research audience of technology
decision makers through editorial coverage and newsletters. Participation was voluntary and 201 respondents
completed the survey.
WHEN: August 3-21, 2015
TO WHOM: The technology decision makers in organizations across the US, Canada, Europe, India, Asia-Pacific,
China, Australia and New Zealand
APPROACH: Quantitative study, fielded online
TOPICS:
IT budget comparison of 2015 to 2016
Budget priorities
Budget concerns
Planned IT initiatives
Importance of IT budget within organization

30
About Mary Shacklett

For twenty-five years, Transworld Data has performed technology analytics, market research and IT consulting on
every world continent, including Antarctica. The firm’s primary focus is on how enterprises worldwide implement
technology to advance business performance, and how technology providers bring technologies to market to
facilitate advance- ments for businesses and consumers. The company is headed by Mary E. Shacklett, President.
Prior to founding Transworld Data, Mary was Vice President of Product Research and Software Development
at Summit Information Systems, a commercial software house; and Vice President of Strategic Planning and
Technology at FSI International, a multi-national manufacturing company in the semiconductor industry.
About Meghann Agarwal

Meghann Agarwal is a physics PhD student at the University of Texas, Austin, working on computational modeling
of galaxy formation and evolution. Prior to that she worked as a test engineer at IBM Research. She enjoys
learning new technologies and deriving insight from data. She lives in Austin.
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It Budgets: Drivers, Trends and Concerns in 2016

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It Budgets: Drivers, Trends and Concerns in 2016

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IT BUDGETS

Drivers, trends and concerns in 2016

Written by Mary Shacklett

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

Tech Pro Research is a ZDNet Web site.

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

More companies are choosing to in-source rather than to outsource IT.

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

Top project focuses in IT in 2016 are security, governance and networks.

Understanding the IT budget

Number of respondents, n=138

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

IT budget trends for 2016

Number of respondents, n=138

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

PLANNED SIZE OF FISCAL OR CALENDAR YEAR 2016 IT BUDGET (BY REGION)

Increased No change Decreased

Number of respondents, n=128

PLANNED SIZE OF FISCAL OR CALENDAR YEAR 2016 IT BUDGET (BY INDUSTRY)

Increased No change Decreased

Number of respondents, n=83

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

Who creates the IT budget?

Number of respondents, n=138

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

Who approves the IT budget?

Number of respondents, n=138

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

PERCENTAGE OF CORPORATE TECHNOLOGY SPENDING IN

Number of respondents, n=138

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparison of 2015 and 2016 budgets

Number of respondents, n=138

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparison of 2015 and 2016 priorities

Number of respondents, n=138 Not a priority Minor priority

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

IT BUDGET PRIORITIES FOR FISCAL OR CALENDAR YEAR 2016

Number of respondents, n=138 Not a priority Minor priority

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

What IT worries are on the minds of companies?

Number of respondents, n=138 Not a concern Minor concern

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

IT initiatives for 2016

Number of respondents, n=138

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

Aligning priorities with the budget

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

Risk management and security breaches

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

The budget review process

Number of respondents, n=138

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

How budget approvals are obtained

Number of respondents, n=138

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

How IT vendors can assist in the budgetary

Number of respondents, n=138

Copyright ©2015 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.