With employment numbers continuing to be discouraging across the country, many information technology decision makers are nonetheless optimistic about IT hiring toward the latter half of the year, according to a new study from information technology company CDW.
CDW’s IT Monitor, which has been tracking IT sentiment since the beginning of the recession, recently polled 500 such "decision makers" – CIOs, primarily, as well as executives in charge of technology purchasing – from large, medium and small firms across many sectors, including healthcare.
The results reveal stronger IT budget expectations over the next six months, and a renewed confidence in the IT job market for the first time in 2010.
According to the latest CDW IT Monitor, almost half (48 percent) of IT decision makers in the private and public sectors anticipate increased IT budgets in the next six months, up 10 percentage points from this time last year.
Along with increased optimism regarding IT budgets, IT hiring expectations are also on the rise: 37 percent of IT decision makers at large companies anticipate hiring additional IT staff in the second half of 2010, up eleven percentage points since June 2009. Similarly, 29 percent of IT decision makers in the federal government sector expect to hire additional IT staff, up nine percentage points since April 2010.
"Despite recent economic volatility, many IT decision makers have remained cautiously optimistic about budgets and anticipated IT investment," said Thomas E. Richards, president and COO of CDW. "As we head into the second half of the year, that optimism is beginning to extend to IT hiring expectations in some sectors. While this positive IT job outlook is still emerging and hasn’t yet translated across all sectors of the IT marketplace, it remains an encouraging indicator of future growth."
In addition to increased optimism about IT staffing, IT decision makers anticipate greater investment in hardware and software for the second half of 2010.
According to the data, almost three in four decision makers expect to replace or install software for the second half of the year, up five percentage points from June 2009. Overall, 68 percent of IT decision makers plan to install or replace hardware in the second half of 2010.
"Under constant pressure to increase operational efficiency, many IT decision makers appear to be planning to enhance business performance and save money through strategic IT investment," added Richards.
