IDC: IT Spending Will Rise At Least 8% By April 2006IDC: IT Spending Will Rise At Least 8% By April 2006

Spending on information technology is expected to grow over the next 12 months, but macroeconomic conditions could have an impact, a market research firm said Friday.

IT spending is expected to increase by more than 8 percent through April 2006, based on a survey of chief information officers and business executives, International Data Corp. said.

Nevertheless, rising interest rates, lower profit expectations for next year and other macroeconomic conditions could lessen growth, IDC said.

"Oil prices are expected to remain high, the deficit isn't getting any smaller, nor is the trade imbalance, and interest rates are going up," IDC analyst John Gantz said in a statement. "For multinationals, the European market is still weak. Nor does there seem to be much allowance for the unexpected. Sooner or later these factors will impact corporate willingness to spend."

On the other hand, companies are looking to IT to increase revenue, develop new products and increase productivity, IDC said. High on many corporations' lists is using IT to get more accurate and immediate customer data and to drive business analytics deeper into organizations.

"To use a sailing analogy, we seem to be on a good tack in favorable seas," Gantz said. "We could just use a little more wind."