IT Spending Set to Soar as Businesses Struggle to Ease Operational Constraints

Global spending on information technology (IT) is on course to increase sharply this year, with the latest survey by Bloomberg finding businesses placing larger bets on tech solutions.

With skill gaps and supply chain disruptions continuing to wreak havoc in the business ecosystem, organizations are increasingly turning to tech tools to ease operational constraints.

In the Bloomberg survey, more than 60% of respondents revealed their plans to scale up investment in technology, while 72% of higher-spenders saw more than a 9% increase in budgets compared to 2021.

Unlike two years ago, businesses are focusing more on bolstering their cybersecurity than investing in artificial intelligence and the metaverse. The rising wave of cyberattacks amid the COVID pandemic could be the reason behind the trend, say analysts.

“While much of this spending is dedicated to building out capacity for new technologies like cloud services, cybersecurity threats are a key factor in justifying the upgrading of IT systems,” the report noted.

Considering the report, the current global enterprises’ tech spending is north of US$1.5 trillion. The report projects the spending to grow beyond “mid-single digits” by the end of this year.

“We’re seeing that companies’ increase in technology spending as a response to pandemic-necessitated upgrades is not going to slow down anytime soon,” stated Anurag Rana, Senior Software and IT Services Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence and lead author of the report.

“In fact, with the need for greater investment in IT infrastructure to build out new capacities like more efficient artificial intelligence and cloud services in addition to an increased understanding of cybersecurity risks, we’re expecting spending to continue to increase as companies recognize the critical importance of this investment.”