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STATE OF IT

The annual report on IT budgets and tech trends.

The results are in! We've got the latest IT trends, including breaking news on budgets, tech trends, and the general state of IT.

Our report includes survey results from 800+ IT pros, social data from conversations within Spiceworks, and real-time usage stats on gear IT pros use every day.
And we serve it all up simply... and in a far more tantalizing (and non-scary) way than your average data dump. That's IT data, gone spicy.

Key Takeaways

What budgetary beasts will IT pros battle in 2016? Here are a few key findings:

1 Despite rising average annual company revenue, IT budgets remain relatively flat.
2 IT pros don’t expect their IT staff to increase in 2016, which means they’ll need to keep doing more… with less.
3 Security attacks are rising, but budgets aren't. 59% of IT pros say their companies don't invest enough in security.
4 Technology end-of-life (EOL) is expected to strongly influence investment in 2016.

IT Budget Barriers

STAGNANT SPEND AND FINANCIAL FEARS

Trending Topics

TECH TALK OF THE TOWN

Future of IT

…IS NOW?

Profile

800+ IT PROS SOUND OFF
STATE OF IT

IT Budget Barriers

Money makes the world go 'round, especially the world of IT. Unfortunately, IT pros and tech marketers in 2016 will have some fearsome financial foes to face.
IT budgets remain fairly flat, even though average annual revenue is higher than last year.

Curse of the IT Spend

IT budgets... are barely budging over the coming year. Global planned spending is expected to increase by about $2,000 year over year. And while North American IT pros will see a slight lift in their 2016 budgets, the money monsters are after EMEA IT pros—they'll have virtually no budget increase next year.
"A lot of the time, management's number one priority is the revenue stream. So I show them why if the issue isn't resolved, it will mean a loss of revenue in one way or another."
Colton Howard, IT Manager

Revenue Growing

Though IT spending is relatively flat, more than half (56%) of IT pros surveyed expect their company's annual revenue to continue increasing in 2016. What's the disconnect?
Management is laser-focused on keeping costs low, but doesn't quite get IT's importance to the company... until something breaks.
Article icon
A scary chasm between IT and management?
Feast your eyes on this Community article

Staffing Strained

Almost 60% of IT pros surveyed don't expect their IT staff to increase in 2016 (cue the Wilhelm Scream). This means they'll need to continue making IT work... minus the extra hands.
Staffing Strained

Allocation of Budget in 2016

How will IT pros divvy up the dollars? Their top priorities are hardware and software, although spending for hosted/cloud-based and managed service projects is slated to increase slightly over 2015.
Also, despite the fact that Windows 10 is a free upgrade for most, IT pros still plan to spend some money on hardware as part of their OS rollout.
Surprised that desktops are still in the lead—even expected to creep ahead more in 2016? Despite campfire stories of a world without desktops, they aren’t going anywhere this year. Still, IT pros predict desktops will eventually be scared off by The Rise of the Mobile Empire.

Purchase Drivers

So what drives IT pros to buy? The numbers don't lie—like last year, technology EOL and company growth/additional needs top the list. New tech features are the least compelling, with only a quarter of IT pros citing these as drivers for new tech purchases.

This speaks to the motto of many companies: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
STATE OF IT

Future of IT

Look into our crystal ball as we delve into the popularity of different tech trends, from server virtualization to BYOD to advanced security to [insert almost anything]-as-a-service... So, what lies ahead for IT?
EOL will be a top reason IT pros make new purchases. (So things will still go cha-ching in the night...)

Not-so-Terrifying IT Tech Trends

More than three-quarters of survey respondents currently use server virtualization—significantly more than those supporting mobility and BYOD. But only a third are using advanced solutions despite increased security attacks (consider yourself warned!)
That said, IT pros are gearing up for a... threatening year. Almost a quarter plan to invest in advanced security in 2016. Other predicted areas of high growth? Application virtualization/hosted shared desktop, VDI, and various shapes of cloud such as SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS.

Importance of IT Initiatives to Business

Security solutions, while considered pretty important to current business practices, are expected to get top billing in the future. This indicates IT pros may start using more funds to ward off potential security issues.

IT's Not All Doom & Gloom

Company revenues should get a boost in 2016, but IT budgets will remain flat. The good news for tech vendors: IT departments will still be shelling out bucks on IT in the coming year. In fact, OS migrations away from Windows Server 2003 and upgrades to Windows 10 will drive some purchases of new servers and PCs.

In addition, with only half of IT departments feeling adequately protected from security threats, IT pros are definitely thinking long and hard about choosing the right security products for their organizations—and budgets.
IT's Not All Doom & Gloom
For IT departments that can't spend big right now, they'll need to look for ways to spend smart by identifying clever ways to save money while still meeting business needs. In other words, things will still go cha-ching in the night...
STATE OF IT

Profile

Who are these IT pros making up the State of IT? Take a peek...
From North America (NA) to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), these IT pros span company size, job title, and industry.
STATE OF IT

About Spiceworks

Spiceworks is the professional network that’s revolutionizing the IT economy. We provide millions of IT pros with the tools, content, and community they need to get their jobs done. Those users have attracted the attention of thousands of technology brands who use Spiceworks to reach IT professionals during their workday. Together, we’ve created the world’s most trusted and vibrant IT marketplace.
ABOUT SPICEWORKS VOICE OF IT

ABOUT SPICEWORKS VOICE OF IT ®

The Spiceworks Voice of IT market insights program publishes statistics, trends, and opinions on the IT industry. We’re pioneering a new, fresh approach to IT data by combining rich social insights from the network with one-of-a-kind usage statistics on the technologies that keep businesses running today. More than 620,000 IT professionals in over 100 countries have joined the program to share information and feedback on the tech issues important to them.

Follow Spiceworks on Twitter and connect with Spiceworks on Facebook.
For more information visit:
www.spiceworks.com
For other Spiceworks Voice of IT reports visit:
www.spiceworks.com/marketing/resources/
This report contains information of fact relating to parties other than Spiceworks. Although the information has been obtained from, and is based on sources that Spiceworks believes to be reliable, Spiceworks does not guarantee the accuracy, and any such information might be incomplete or condensed. Any estimates included in this report constitute Spiceworks’ judgment as of the date of compilation, and are subject to change without notice. This report is for information purposes only. All responsibility for any interpretations or actions based on the information or commentary contained within this report lie solely with the recipient. All rights reserved. 2015.
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