How COVID-19 will impact future IT budgets and priorities

Planning for 2022 IT budgets has begun, and galore businesses are recognizing the effects of COVID-19 connected their IT priorities and tech spends.

How COVID-19 volition power IT budgets and however businesses program to allocate their tech dollars was the taxable of a caller TechRepublic Premium survey. TechRepublic Premium surveyed 122 SMB decision-makers astir their 2022 IT budgets and compared the results to a akin survey conducted past twelvemonth astir their 2021 IT budgets. 

Questions ranged from however the coronavirus situation volition change fiscal 2022 fund plans and IT priorities to who makes archetypal recommendations for items successful the IT budget. Other questions delved into what percent of the wide firm fund is allocated to IT, apical fund priorities, however vendors tin amended assistance clients and overmuch more.  

SEE:  2022 IT Budget Research Report: COVID-19 prompts organizations to tighten budgets  (TechRepublic Premium)

COVID-19 shifts IT fund plans

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The uncertainty of COVID-19 factored into galore respondents' IT budgetary plans. Of survey respondents, 43% said they volition tighten their budgets due to the fact that of the coronavirus. While this fig represents astir fractional of the survey respondents, it is little than past year, erstwhile 62% of respondents forecasted tightening IT budgets. 

Also noteworthy, 21% of respondents said that COVID-19 had nary effect connected their 2021 IT budgets. This fig roseate somewhat to 23% for 2022.

Further, 20% of respondents expect that their organization's fiscal/calendar twelvemonth 2022 fund volition beryllium little than $50,000, which is up from 16% past year. Eighteen percent foretell having budgets of $1 cardinal to $9.9 million, 13% foresee budgets betwixt $10 cardinal and $49.9 million, and 4% judge their fund volition transcend $250 million.

Despite businesses shifting dollars and practicing much controlled spending, IT budgets volition spot increases successful web and net information spends, according to 27% of respondents, and distant IT technology, according to 22% of respondents. Interestingly, these 2 spending priorities flip-flopped from past year. In 2021, 26% of survey respondents planned to walk much connected distant IT technology, and 22% reported spending much connected networks and net information due to the fact that of COVID-19. 

SEE:  2022 IT Budget Research Report: COVID-19 prompts organizations to tighten budgets  (TechRepublic Premium)

IT fund priorities

More specifically, the apical 5 IT fund priorities for fiscal calendar twelvemonth 2022 are improving web and net security, unreality services, integer translation and worker training, according to respondents. For the astir part, these reflector past year's survey results. Implementing distant technologies for employees was the 1 noticeable quality twelvemonth to year. Only 8% of survey respondents said that this volition beryllium an IT precedence for 2022. In 2021, implementing distant exertion was a precedence for 13% of respondents. 

In 2021, the bulk of survey respondents (71%) reported that their IT budgets comprised 10% oregon little of their organizations' full budgetary spending. For 2022, that fig dipped to 46% of respondents reporting that 10% oregon little of the wide firm fund volition beryllium allocated to IT.

The infographic beneath contains selected details from the research. To work much findings, positive analysis, download the 2022 IT fund probe report: COVID-19 prompts organizations to tighten budgets (TechRepublic Premium).