Networking, hardware and portals are the highest priorities; Wireless among the lowest

Nucleus Research, a global provider of ROI-focused research and advisory services, announced today the results of a survey of Fortune 150 IT directors, which revealed that IT spending will likely not increase in 2004 vs. 2003.

Specifically:

• 67 percent of respondents indicated that their IT budget would remain the same from 2003 to 2004;
• Three percent indicated that their IT budget would decline in 2004; and
• 30 percent expected some (albeit limited) increase in IT spending in 2004.

In the survey, Nucleus analysts also asked respondents what their IT spending priorities would be for 2004. The top three cited were:

• Networking (wired), at 30 percent;
• Hardware, at 27 percent; and
• Portals, at 23 percent.
• Other priorities cited were storage, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), business intelligence and supply chain software.

Areas that IT directors described as low priority in terms of spending were wireless networking and Business Activity Monitoring (BAM).

Ian Campbell, CEO of Nucleus Research, found the results surprising.

"Given the apparent resurrection of the U.S. economy, I would have expected these firms to be more bullish about their IT spending plans – particularly in light of the fact that most companies have not upgraded most of their critical IT systems since Y2K," said Campbell. "Perhaps we are gearing up for another end-of-the-year panic as those outdated systems begin to show their age."

Rebecca Wettemann, vice president of Research at Nucleus Research, noted that federal mandates such as HIPAA and Sarbanes-Oxley, combined with customer mandates such as Wal-Mart's decree for vendors to be RFID-compliant, have forced many companies to postpone other important IT investments.

"Many of the IT directors we interviewed expressed frustration with the portion of their budget that was essentially non-negotiable," said Wettemann. "Given the choice, they would have chosen to spend the money differently – wireless networking was most often cited as a technology that they would like to invest in, but are unable to due to budget constraints."

"Overall, careful and measured spending are the watchwords for 2004," Campbell concluded.

For a copy of the report, visit http://www.NucleusResearch.com

About Nucleus Research

Nucleus Research is an independent global research and advisory firm that provides CFOs, CIOs and their staffs with the financial and technology expertise they need to evaluate and manage their information technology investments the same way they evaluate and manage other capital investments. Nucleus Research is the first firm of its kind to blend financial analysis with comprehensive technology expertise to deliver 100% impartial return-on-investment (ROI) data and financial analysis services to organizations worldwide. Nucleus analysts use an uncompromising set of processes and tools to evaluate the financial return on IT assets throughout a technology's life cycle, from selection and deployment to upgrade and retirement. Nucleus Research's ROI assessment methodology can be applied to virtually any technology investment. For more information visit NucleusResearch.com.