2015 IT SPENDING PREDICTIONS

FANTASY OR REALITY?

IT
PREDICTIONS

2015 IT SPENDING PREDICTIONS

FANTASY OR REALITY?

We checked the top Information Technology predictions

for 2015 against actual CIO spending priorities: is it
fantasy or reality?
Forecasting and predicting trends: theres always a lot of
it about in the New Year. And its quite fun in the world of
IT where the realms of possibility are stretched still further
every year, but are they actually on the money?
A CEB report has revealed CIOs and IT teams have seen
budgets representing the highest growth for five years. So
its looking promising for IT solutions providers.

WHO IS IN THE SURVEY?

Every attendee at nine GDS
International CIO summits
across the globe

Last year we asked 585 senior IT executives for their 12 and

24 month spending priorities. This is where their budgets
are actually going. Then we compared those priorities with a
selection of predictions.

Security

From: Gartners Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends 2015.

They say All roads to the digital future lead through
security Recognition that perimeter defence is inadequate
and applications need to take a more active role in security
gives rise to a new multifaceted approach ... This will lead
to new models of building security directly into applications.
Perimeters and firewalls are no longer enough; every app
needs to be self-aware and self-protecting.
We say Definitely on the money. Thanks to high-profile
security breaches our delegates have bumped the security
issue high up the CIOs to do list. More than a third made it
their TOP spending priority in 2015.

JOB TITLES:
Director level and above, including
SVP Global Information, VP
Technology, CIO.

COMPANIES:
Sony Pictures Entertainment,
Bank of America, Roche
Pharmaceuticals, Walmart, Zerox,
Westpac, Johnson & Johnson,
Adidas, Boeing, Carlsberg,
Zappos, etc.

IT
PREDICTIONS

Business Analytics

From IDCs IDC Worldwide Predictions 2015: Accelerating

Innovation on the 3rd Platform. They say Big data
and analytics will see important developments in 2015 as
worldwide spending on big data-related software, hardware,
and services grows to $125 billion. Rich media analytics
(video, audio, and image) will emerge as an important driver
of big data projects.
From CIO.coms Heres how CIOs will spend their IT budget
for 2015. They say In 2015, the top of the mind agenda
for CIOs will be to enhance customer experience, bolster the
data analysis capabilities to derive actionable insights at the
point of impact and to empower the workforce with efficient
mobility platforms.
We say clearly big data is a big deal. 67% of our IT
executives said they will dedicate dollars to enterprise
analytics, data mining and business intelligence in the
coming year.

Cloud investment nearly universal

From IDCs Worldwide Predictions 2015: Accelerating

Innovation on the 3rd Platform. They say Cloud services
will remain a hotbed of activity in 2015 with $118 billion in
spending on the greater cloud ecosystem.
Or to be put it another way (and I love this analogy):
Instead of a slow-moving fluffy white cloud image, the
cloud computing industry should use a tornado that might
be a better way to visualize how fast cloud computing is
growing.
We say On trend. 76% of the executives we spoke rate
cloud as a key spend.

Mobile

From Computer Worlds Forecast 2015: IT spending on

an upswing. They say: Organizations plan to invest in
RFID technology, remote access tools, Wi-Fi, mobile/
wireless devices and mobile device management systems.
Companies also plan to spend on technology to support
bring-your-own-device programs.

76%

Of the executives we
spoke rate cloud as a
key spend

67%
Of our IT executives said
they will dedicate dollars
to enterprise analytics,
data mining and business
intelligence in the coming year

59%
Of executives told us
projects to boost the ICT
skills shortage and increase
training were a priority

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PREDICTIONS

We say spot on, three quarters were planning on serious

mobile tech spending although only around 50% of the
executives in Middle East and North Africa agreed.

Recruitment

From Information Ages Top technologies on the savvy

CIOs radar for 2015. They say: The battle for talent in tech
continues. It has become increasingly clear that CIOs are
finding it hard to recruit IT professionals with leading cloud
skills and capabilities. According to the IBM Business Tech
Trends Study, 40% of organisations surveyed reported
moderate-to-major skills gaps across cloud, analytics,
mobile and social technologies. Often the individuals with
these in-demand skills are shunning corporate employers
to work for leading cloud IT organisations or to set up their
own companies. Conversely, this is leading to more IT
outsourcing, as companies lack the talent to deliver services
internally. The net effect is that IT staff can continue calling
the shots.
For CIOs, building a critical mass of in-house IT professionals
who can develop cloud services or those that can
collaborate effectively with third-party cloud and hosting
organisations is an absolute priority for 2015. Savvy CIOs will
invest in their own staff, as well as exploiting opportunities
to work with third-party cloud organisations to build inhouse skills.
We say: the battle to close the knowledge gap is on,
especially in Africa and Latin America where 59% of
executives told us projects to boost the ICT skills shortage
and increase training were a priority.

FIND OUT MORE

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To request an invitation to attend one of our upcoming

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CIO Summit Latin America - www.ciosummitla.com
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