CIO Tech Poll: Tech Priorities explores budget allocations and use of emerging vendors

Boston, Mass. , Nov. 29, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IDG’s CIO — the executive-level IT media brand providing insight into business technology leadership — reveals the upcoming strategic investment plans of tech leaders in the CIO Tech Poll: Tech Priorities 2019 research. Results from the study are based on 200 heads of IT and examines the growing tech budgets, expected budget allocation for the next 12 months, and the evolving use of emerging vendors.

The research continues to show what we’ve seen for the past few years – consistent growth in technology budget. Over half of IT leaders (57%) expect their tech budgets to increase within the next 12 months, and this increases to 61% for enterprise organizations. (Click to Tweet). Technologies that tech leaders anticipate spending more on include cybersecurity (72%), cloud computing (67%), and business process management/workflow automation (63%). IT executives also report that business process management is currently the single most important technology project that their IT department is working on. In the future there will be more activity around artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning, customer experience technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) as these are the top technologies being actively researched for the upcoming year. It’s no surprise that Windows 10 (79%), SaaS productivity applications (72%), cloud computing (71%) and cybersecurity (63%) are the most widely used tools and services in organizations today.

As organizations are being disrupted due to emerging technologies and strategies, they are looking for new ways to differentiate themselves – which could lead to working with new tech companies. Similar to last year’s results, IT leaders report that 15% of their overall tech budget is spent with new technology companies. Looking into the future, 41% expect this number to increase, which is up from 33% last year. Our results show that IT executives rely on industry events or conferences, piloting test products, and expert reviews to evaluate emerging vendors. They also utilize their internal developer expertise – 71% of overall respondents said they consult with their application developers prior to purchase during the research stage of new technologies.

“As organizations look to transform and continue to increase their spending towards newer tech companies, IT leaders are welcoming insights from internal innovators,” said Adam Dennison, SVP/general manager, IDG Events, and publisher, CIO. “Through peer recommendations, appropriate product demos and strong business plans, organizations are quicker to partner with emerging vendors.”

When it comes to emerging vendors proving their viability, IT leaders are looking for case studies and/or a proof of concept (49%). They also are more likely to find companies viable if they provide insight into their product roadmaps and future plans (44%), and also if they are provided with references from past customers (43%).

To view additional information on the research please visit: http://bit.ly/2BHuyRc

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About CIO Tech Poll
CIO Tech Poll: Tech Priorities was conducted to gauge for the upcoming year which technology areas IT leaders will focus on, and to measure the direction of spending within those categories. The current CIO Tech Poll was conducted September – October 2018 through the CIO LinkedIn Forum and to the CIO audience. Results are based on 200 respondents who indicated they are the top IT executive at their organization or business unit.

About CIO
CIO focuses on attracting the highest concentration of enterprise CIOs and business technology executives with unparalleled peer insight and expertise on business strategy, innovation, and leadership. As organizations grow with digital transformation, CIO provides its readers with key insights on career development, including certifications, hiring practices and skills development. The award-winning CIO portfolio provides business technology leaders with analysis and insight on information technology trends and a keen understanding of IT’s role in achieving business goals. CIO information is available at www.CIO.com.

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About IDG Communications, Inc.
IDG Communications connects the world of tech buyers with insights, intent and engagement. IDG Communications is the world’s largest media, data and marketing services company that activates and engages the most influential technology buyers. Our premium brands, including CIO®, Computerworld®, PCWorld® and Macworld®, engage the most powerful audience of technology buyers providing essential guidance on the evolving technology landscape. 

Our global data intelligence platform activates purchasing intent, powering our clients’ success. IDG Marketing Services creates custom content with marketing impact across video, mobile, social and digital. We execute complex campaigns that fulfill marketers’ global ambitions seamlessly with consistency that delivers results and wins awards. IDG is the #1 tech media company in the world, per comScore.*

*Source: comScore Media Metrix, Desktop Unique Visitors, Worldwide, January 2017

Additional information about IDG, a privately held company, is available at http://www.idg.com.

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Stacey Raap
Sr. Marketing and Research Specialist
IDG Communications, Inc.
Stacey_raap@idg.com
508.935.4005