IT Operational Budgets at Highest Levels Since 1997

IT operational budgets, as a percentage of company revenues, are at their highest levels since the late 1990s, but that increase comes as large enterprises continue to outsource IT work, according to a recent survey by research firm Computer Economics.

The survey, “IT Spending, Staffing and Technology Trends,” found that median operational budgets across the IT board represented 2 percent of overall company revenues in 2006, up from 1.7 percent in 2005 and 1.9 percent in 2004.

The 2 percent figure is the highest in the survey since 1997, when the IT world was in the middle of the dot-com boom and Y2K spending, said Frank Scavo, the president of Computer Economics, based in Irvine, Calif.

The survey also found that IT operational budgets grew 4.1 percent in 2006, compared to 2.5 percent growth in 2005, while the expectation for operational growth in 2007 was about a 5 percent increase.

“It’s a period of organic growth,” Scavo said. “It’s the highest point since 1997, but it’s a more normal growth period for IT and for business.”

Read the full story on eWEEK.com: IT Operational Budgets at Highest Levels Since 1997