Despite instability wrought by pandemics, major global conflicts and trade wars, tariff threats and the explosive growth of generative AI, top line IT spending has been surprisingly stable. Spending and staffing metrics such as IT spending as a percentage of revenue, IT budget increases, the percentage of CIOs reporting adequate budgets, the number of CIOs being asked to cut budgets, and IT staff hiring all look roughly the same as they have for much of the last decade, according to figures from Avasant Research. The firm’s 2025/26 benchmark study found that IT operational budgets are increasing by 3 percent, marking the second consecutive year and the fourth year in the last six that IT budgets have increased by 3 percent. During the last decade, IT spending has increased at a median of between 2.8 percent and 3.1 percent every year, except for the high inflation years of 2022 and 2023. “For about a decade, companies have increased their IT spending by about 3 percent every year, regardless of the state of the economy or the political atmosphere,” said Avasant analysts. “And for the most part, CIOs have reported in those same periods that they are ‘OK’ with that budget and that it was roughly adequate to suit their needs.” Even so, while there has been little movement in these key indicators, there are some “tectonic shifts” taking place below the surface, Avasant numbers showed. Ten years ago, for example, personnel made up about 41 percent of IT budgets, on average. Today, that number is about 30 percent. Security, meanwhile, made up 1.5 percent of the total IT budgets ten years ago – the same amount as printers. Today, security is 5.4 percent of budgets. AI made up such a small percentage of budgets in 2016 that Avasant didn’t even track it, but AI already accounts for more of IT budgets than security did a decade ago. After subtracting the number of companies that are reducing their budgets in a given area from the number of companies increasing their budget, Avasant found that a net of around 64 percent of companies is increasing their IT spend on AI. Further illustrating the importance of the transformation that is taking place, budgets for upgrading legacy systems are increasing by a net of 57 percent this year compared to only 15 percent last year. “CIOs have spent the last decade re-imagining the IT department, and that transformation continues at a remarkable pace,” said David Wagner, senior research director at Avasant. “As AI and automation continue to transform the business, CIOs need to be ready to move even faster.” This is all good news for technology advisors, whose primary value proposition has become helping CIOs and IT departments navigate the ongoing transformations of how we work and network, as well as keep up with the pace of change. These realities also are the precise reasons why we created CVxEXPO, which takes place this year on November 3-5, in Glendale, Ariz. From the expo hall showcasing the most cutting-edge technologies in the channel to the unrivaled educational content to the one-of-a-kind entertainment-based networking events, partners and providers come to CVxEXPO to see first-hand the solutions that are driving change across the channel, learn from like-minded peers and build their roadmaps for the coming year. But most importantly, they come to find ways to more quickly bring their customers to business outcomes, whether through networks, network services, business communications, cybersecurity or AI. If you can’t join us at CVxEXPO25, don’t worry. We’ll be back next November with the same intent of keeping our channel community and their customers moving forward in these transformational times. We hope to see you there. IT Budget Trends Disguise Transformation LETTER Martin Vilaboy Editor-in-Chief martin@bekabusinessmedia.com Gerald Baldino Contributing Editor gerald@bekabusinessmedia.com Tony Jones Contributing Editor tony@bekabusinessmedia.com Percy Zamora Art Director percy@bekabusinessmedia.com Jen Vilaboy Ad Production Director jen@bekabusinessmedia.com Berge Kaprelian Group Publisher berge@bekabusinessmedia.com (480) 503-0770 Beka Business Media Berge Kaprelian President and CEO Corporate Headquarters 10115 E Bell Road, Suite 107 - #517 Scottsdale, Arizona 85260 Voice: 480.503.0770 Email: berge@bekabusinessmedia.com © 2025 Beka Business Media, All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in any form or medium without express written permission of Beka Business Media is prohibited. ChannelVision and the ChannelVision logo are trademarks of Beka Business Media 6 CHANNELVISION | FALL 2025
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