Exuding optimism

CIOs are increasingly confident about their firms’ business climate, which translates into greater optimism regarding IT spending for the year. Those are the findings of a recent study from Forrester Research.

In June, Forrester surveyed 115 CIOs for its quarterly CIO Confidence Poll about their views on the health of their companies, industries and IT spending. The results show that IT executives are feeling better about their industry’s prospects. A full 43% of those surveyed categorized their business climate as being strong or very strong, as compared to 36% who expressed those sentiments in the first quarter.

According to Forrester, this increased optimism will drive an uptick in IT spending. More than half of CIOs surveyed in the second quarter expect their IT spending to remain on budget for the rest of the year. Another 34% expect to outspend their budget, up from 25% in the previous quarter.

The CIO Confidence Poll also shows that some of this IT spending is being earmarked for technology innovation. Two-thirds of respondents describe the research and application of emerging technologies as a key part of their IT strategy.

For more information, go to www.forrester.com