Growth Agenda for Midmarket IT

Midmarket investment in IT is rebounding, with a focus on infrastructure, collaboration, business analytics and business performance management. A survey by IBM, “Inside the Midmarket: A 2011 Perspective," asked 2,112 business and IT decision makers at companies with 100-1,000 employees in 20 countries what their IT priorities are in the next 18 months. Midmarket companies have since 2009 shifted from cost control to a greater emphasis on growth and higher-end solutions like analytics. Half the companies surveyed plan to increase IT budgets in the next 18 months. IT investments, however, must align with business goals and drive growth, innovation and customer value. “The big finding here is that companies are now focused on growth and growth of the business,” said Andy Monshaw, general manager of IBM Midmarket. “The last survey was all about cost containment and cost cutting. What we’re finding here is not only are they shifting to growth, they’re shifting to growth in the leading-edge areas.”