UK IT spend will cut costs and usher in cloud

A third of UK companies will strategically invest in IT to cut overall business costs and increase efficiencies over the next 12 months, while a further 26 per cent will be moving cautiously forward to position their company for the next decade, according to research.

The survey, commissioned by network performance optimisation specialist, Riverbed Technology, examined IT investment trends across the UK, France, Germany, UAE and Poland. It revealed that, while there are some pan-European trends when it comes to IT spending priorities, such as server virtualisation, the UK often diverges from its near neighbours.

This differentiation between the UK and the other countries consulted was particularly stark with regard to the adoption of cloud technologies. Initiatives such as hybrid cloud and disaster recovery and backup in the cloud are considered far more important in the UK than in the other countries consulted (36 per cent and 30 per cent respectively, compared to 25 per cent and 21 per cent average).

Willem Hendrickx, senior vice president at Riverbed Technology, told IT Pro he was surprised at some of the results, given the impact of the financial crisis on the UK economy.

"I was surprised that in the UK, [only] 10 per cent are saying they are going to cut down their costs," Hendrickx said.

"However, 10 per cent [of UK companies] say they are going to invest aggressively in IT over the next 12 months, which, taking into account the financial crisis, I think is a lot," Hendrickx added. The only country with a higher intended aggressive spend was the UAE.

When it comes to the fact that the UK appears to be lagging behind France, Germany and the UAE with regard to the top spending priority for the next 12 months, server virtualisation, Hendrickx believes the figures may be misleading on first sight.

"What [the report] doesn't say is how many people have already sone it and I honestly think the UK is actually ahead. Many of the bigger organisations have already done server virtualisation projects [which is why investment appears to be reduced]," Hendrickx said.

Jane McCallion is ITPro's Managing Editor, specializing in data centers and enterprise IT infrastructure. Before becoming Managing Editor, she held the role of Deputy Editor and, prior to that, Features Editor, managing a pool of freelance and internal writers, while continuing to specialize in enterprise IT infrastructure, and business strategy.

Prior to joining ITPro, Jane was a freelance business journalist writing as both Jane McCallion and Jane Bordenave for titles such as European CEO, World Finance, and Business Excellence Magazine.