IT matters more than ever with spending making a comeback and those in the industry "starting to hold their heads up high again," according to Chris Fell, vice president and managing director of IDC Australia and New Zealand.
Speaking at the IDC Directions conference in Sydney last week, Fell said customers are challenging vendors to make IT matter again by aligning IT and business strategy.
However, despite Fell's optimism, he admitted some organizations remain sceptical about the industry's ability to deliver.
“At the moment IT is experiencing extreme operational efficiency. It’s a world characterised by standardized technologies,” Fell said. “It’s not all bad news, this hyper-efficient world with fewer vendors. In this sort of environment, long-term profitability is easier to manage and maintain.”
He described IT spending as optimistic, adding that business confidence is improving.
Put simply, an Australian IT spending resurrection is under way, he said.
“Spending on smaller, discreet projects is still prevalent, with provable business cases, swift outcomes and better ROI. Some larger projects are also starting to surface,” Fell said.
Oracle Australia managing director Brian Mitchell agreed spending has returned.
“We’ve seen a return to capital spending again and this return is fuelling the market,” Mitchell said.
"At Oracle, we’re growing our headcount, but I think the picture for the industry is a bit cloudy. There’s not a lot of pressure for wage increases.” CSC Australia CEO Mike Shrove also sees the market picking up from where it was one to two years ago, with his organization experiencing growth of 4 to 6 percent.
“The percentage of spend is increasing dramatically, with most companies diverting their spending to their most important task, which is security and information integrity; we are seeing a really big shift in dollars in this area” Shove said.