2003: a dismal year for IT budgets in large organizations

According to a research note by Computer Economics, 44% of large companies (over $750M in revenue) reported declines in their IT budgets in 2003--the highest number of declines reported since Computer Economics began tracking this statistic in 1989. At first glance, it doesn't look so bad when one notes that 40% of large companies reported budget increases. But a more careful look shows that the magnitude of the cuts are greater than the magnitude of the increases. In other words, in 2003 more companies cut budgets than increased budgets and the magnitude of the cuts was greater than the magnitude of the increases.

But hope springs eternal. Computer Economics is forecasting a recovery next year.