IT budgets going up: where's the money going?

By all accounts, IT budgets will be the best that can be expected in the year ahead. But, no matter how much more robust, resources always have their limits. So IT executives and planners need to fund projects that deliver the greatest potential for results to their businesses.

Stacy Collette provides the results of Computerworld's latest survey of 194 IT executives, which outlines the prime spots where IT plans to invest its additional dollars, euros, pounds, or rupees. It's notable that 43 percent say their IT budgets will be growing over the coming year, versus 36 percent last year. These funding boosts will be a healthy 13.1 percent, on average. 

Of course, since 75 percent of IT budgets go to routine maintenance, it can be hoped that the additional 13 percent budget boost will go to innovative initiatives that will grow businesses, rather than being sucked into just helping to keep the lights on.

Here are the five top priority areas identified in the survey:

Security: Forty-six percent of IT leaders expect to ramp up their investments in "access control, intrusion prevention, identity management, and virus and malware protection."

Cloud computing: At least 40% of IT executives will be increasing their funding of Software as a Service, public, private, hybrid and community clouds.

Business analytics: Thirty-eight percent intend to focus more on "enterprise analytics, data mining and business intelligence."

Application development: In addition, 38% will be spending more on application development projects, which will include mobile app development.

Wireless and mobile: Just over one-third of IT executives, 35%, intend to invest more in mobile platforms, as well as Internet of Things-type projects, such as RFID and remote access tools.

(Thumbnail photo: Joe McKendrick.)