IT Budgets Set To Grow In 2018, Driven By AI, IoT, VR Adoption

Source: TechRepublic, Conner Forrest
Photo: iStockphoto/zhudifeng

The Spiceworks State of IT report shows that 87% of IT budgets will either grow or stay flat in 2018. The growth of emerging technologies and new IT jobs will help stabilize these budgets.

IT budget are set to stabilize in 2018, according to Spiceworks’ 2018 State of IT report, with 87% of these budgets either growing or remaining flat. That growth will be driven by increased hiring in IT, and the adoption of new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and the internet of things (IoT).

Additionally, the report noted that companies are budgeting more for cloud-based services as well. This could be due to the increasing need to more readily access certain data anywhere at any time, a Spiceworks press release said.

The aforementioned 87% breaks down like this: Some 44% of companies are planning on increasing their budgets, while 43% said their budget won’t change. The remainder—11%—are planning on decreasing their IT budgets in 2018.

So, how much will these budgets increase? On average, the report said, the IT budgets will increase by about 19%. And, as the budgets even out, hiring will also increase to manage new technology investments. Of companies with 1,000-4,999 employees, 62% will hire more professionals in 2018. For bigger companies with more than 5,000 employees, that number goes up to 70%.

As noted, new technologies will also play a role in driving up IT budgets. However, adoptions are still relatively low right now. Only 29% of companies have adopted IoT, 18% have adopted VR, and 13% have adopted AI. This adoption is set to increase in the next year, with IoT jumping to 48%, VR increasing to 32%, and AI moving to 30%, the report said.

Other key technologies being adopted include IT automation, and advanced security tools and platforms, the report said.

Further, respondents said their IT budgets in 2018 would break down as such: Hardware will make up 31%, software will make up 26%, cloud services will make up 21%, and managed IT services will make up 15%.

“Many businesses are feeling optimistic about the current state of the economy, and as a result, we can expect them to spend a bit more freely when it comes to their IT purchases in 2018,” Spiceworks technology analyst Peter Tsai said in the release. “Not only are budgets expected to increase across hardware, software, and services, companies have indicated they’re also more willing to invest in emerging tech like IoT, AI, and VR. And with IT staffing levels on the rise, some organizations will be better equipped to evaluate promising tech and plan for the future.”

Want to use this data in your next business presentation? Feel free to copy and paste these top takeaways into your next slideshow.

87% of IT budgets will either grow or stay flat in 2018, with 44% increasing and 43% staying the same. – Spiceworks, October 2017

Companies planning to grow their IT budget will increase it by 19%, on average, in 2018. Spiceworks, October 2017

Hardware will make up 31% of IT budgets, software will make up 26%, cloud services will make up 21%, and managed IT services will make up 15% in 2018. – Spiceworks, October 2017

About Conner Forrest
Conner Forrest is a Senior Editor for TechRepublic. He covers enterprise technology and is interested in the convergence of tech and culture.

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/it-budgets-set-to-grow-in-2018-driven-by-ai-iot-vr-adoption