70 per cent of CIOs say GFC effects have passed: IDC

IDC Australia vice president of research, Tim Dillon

A survey of some 400 CIOs across the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) region indicates that while 70 per cent feel the effects of the GFC have passed, an average 2.3 per cent budget increase will take place in these organisations.

Vice president of research at IDC Australia, Tim Dillon, addressed more than 200 CIOs at the CIO Summit 2010 in Sydney, where he revealed the results of IDC’s Forecast for Management Survey.

The survey analysed economic conditions, the effect these had on the IT infrastructure or business, and how technology is being deployed to address these issues.

Dillon, previously a researcher and IT consultant, said the mismatch between the company budget levels and the wider economy will have an impact on the future of IT in Australia.

“We’re expecting things to improve but we’re not sure they will," he told attendes at the summit. "We’re not having a budget increase to match the situation and this is going to have an effect on our IT expenditure down the track."

Dillon said the issue of IT spending revealed some interesting trends among CIOs.

“Are we actually spending too much on IT? This is an interesting issue," Dillon said.

"Special projects are dropping and we’re taking a much more holistic company driven point of view,” he added.

Dillon described recruitment as another key area of concern for CIOs across a variety of different companies and company sizes.

“Recruitment is a key area of concern in this space. If you have Gen-Y employees, there is an expectation that social networking and BYO software will be part of the office situation,” Dillon said.

The news comes as CIOs recently revealed they were unlikely to adopt BYO IT schemes in Australia despite the popularity of these schemes in other nations.

(See the CIO Summit 2010 in pictures)