The Computer Weekly/Kew Associates quarterly spending
survey should put a smile on everyone's face. IT spending by
corporate users was up again, with spending by large corporates
showing its biggest increase in three years.
But not all the investment is going directly on technology to boost
the bottom line. Much is going on compliance projects, leaving IT
directors battling to get direct business benefit from their
investment.
The public sector is still sucking in IT resources. Its spending in
the last quarter was up 8.8%, excluding the national programme for
IT in the NHS, and 17% including it. Tony Blair's e-government
programme promises much, but we have yet to see tangible
productivity gains or dramatically improved services.
There are already signs that the spending boom is leading to skills
shortages. The Computer Weekly/ SSL Quarterly Survey of
Appointments Data and Trends has reported dramatically increased
demand for contractors and permanent staff, and IT directors are
already complaining of difficulties in recruiting permanent staff.
Will we soon face software and hardware companies trying to push up
prices? This may be the right time to remind your suppliers that
the IT market is still highly competitive.
Don't labour alone
Charles Babbage and Lord Byron's daughter Ada Lovelace may have
comprised the world's first user group as they worked together on
their "analytical engines" way back in the early 19th
century.
Things have come a long way since then, as Julia Vowler's review on
page 46 of some of the UK's leading user groups demonstrates. There
is certainly no need for any senior IT professional to labour alone
these days.
Whether it is help with technical, management or career issues that
is needed, today's IT director has a wealth of organisations with
members eager to help one another.
Vowler's article shows the tip of the iceberg. There is not enough
space to detail the vast range of niche groups in the UK today -
not just technology-specific but special interest groups ranging
from the Church Computer Users Group through the British Computer
Association of the Blind to the myriad local computer
associations.
It all points to a thriving interest in IT at both professional and
amateur levels. Babbage and Lovelace may not have known what they
started - but we are glad they did!