IT spending to increase in 2010

Goldman Sachs' latest IT spending survey is out and it looks like a tech-spending recovery is on the way for 2010, reports CNET News.

To a large extent, the data suggests not so much that spending is dramatically higher, but that it has normalised at pre-recessionary growth rates, rather than contracting as it has over the past several months.

Goldman is cautiously optimistic about 2010 spending, noting that much of it depends on the macro-economic environment driving more business spending. And while most areas will see growth counter to 2009's downward spiral, some areas such as off-shore development will feel significant retraction.

Enterprise software giant SAP came under attack at the SAP User Group for failing to share its innovations with its customers, who are struggling to deal with enormous upheavals in the enterprise environment, states Computing.co.uk.

SAP was criticised for having no new products due until 2014 and being late on product delivery despite investing almost 20% of its revenue in research and development.

Keynote speaker Ray Wang, senior analyst at consultancy Altimeter, says: “These changes are pretty scary for business leaders - the planning cycle is now three years, down from 10. Ultimately, end-users must be prepared to give up some level of control to obtain the flexibility required to optimise their existing SAP environments.”

If and when the job market opens up in 2010, senior technology management will be concerned about keeping talented employees, says eWeek.

Avoiding losing the best employees is a key issue for many CIOs, according to a recent survey by staffing company Robert Half Technology. Other recent studies from 2009 predict that small raises and professional development training will occur next year.

Supply and demand for technology jobs follows the economy, and when more job openings start to appear, bidding wars between competitors for the best employees are likely to take hold.