ChannelVision Magazine

A total of 19 percent of respon- dents reported that their company’s IT spending would increase during the first quarter of 2018, up 3 points from the August 2017 survey. An- other 15 percent said their IT spend- ing will decrease (or there will be no spending at all) a 1 point improve- ment from previously. Respondents were also asked if their IT spending was on track thus far in the fourth quarter, and the results show an improvement. A total of 15 percent said they spent “more than planned” so far that quarter, while 17 percent said “less than planned.” That’s a net 7 points better than August on 451’s indicator panel and 4 points im- proved from the previous November. Overall, business spending has im- proved a net 4 points from previously. “Looking at year-over-year findings, these are the strongest November spending levels of the past nine years,” said 451 researchers. Looking further ahead to the first half of 2018, 20 percent of respon- dents believe their IT budgets will be greater than the second half of 2017, while 16 percent believe they will be less – 2 points improved from previ- ously. What’s more, a total of 50 percent of respondents said their company was giving a “green light” to spend money on IT products and ser- vices (i.e., spending is normal) – up 2 points. “This is the fourth consecutive improvement and the best results of the past decade,” said 451. And another 42 percent said their company has a “yellow/red light” to spend on IT, unchanged from previously. Most of the IT spending catego- ries tracked by 451 showed an increase or were flat, with security, not sur- prisingly, leading in terms of overall projected spending increases. Some other stronger areas include storage, enterprise applications, mobile devices and PCs. Switching to hardware, results show a downtick in corporate smartphone demand typically seen each Novem- ber. That said, this was the weakest November reading in 10 years. Al- though Apple continued to lead in over- all demand, that lead has declined. At the same time, demand for Samsung has also decreased, which is under- standable given the anticipation for the new Galaxy models due for release in March of this year. Tablet demand, meanwhile, reached its lowest level in six years with most major manufacturers reg- istering downticks. Apple continues to lead in this category, followed by Microsoft. Corporate PC buying reached an all-time low in August 2017, but there was an increase for November. This is a trend generally seen in November as companies gear up to spend on desk- tops and laptops. Dell leads all other manufacturers in planned buying for both. o By Martin Vilaboy IT Spending Outlook ‘Best in NineYears’ A lthough 451 Research annually sees an optimistic outlook for every upcoming first quarter, the research firm’s Leading Indicator panel recently reported the strongest November 90-day reading in nine years. Software spending sees best result in 10 years Buyers Side Top Drivers to P rchase IT Solutions Through Channel Par n s by Company Size Source: Spiceworks Consent Legacy data Legitimate interest Implementing a complaint system Third-party data Profiling Data breach/management/notification Training The right to be forgotten Other UK Marketers’ Primary Concern About the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Oct 2017 Source: Direct Marketing Association UK % of respondents 28% 18% 12% 11% 9% 6% 5% 5% 5% 1% 68% 43% 55% 53% 45% 40% 38% 51% 48% 45%45% 36% 46% 49% 51% 35% 38% 35% 42% 32% 39% 33% 31% 30% 37% 31% 29% 32% 27% 33% 37% 28% 54% 57% 56% 60% 40% 20% 0% Price Existing relationship Trust / reputation Positive prior experience Ease of purchase Product availability Speed of delivery 1-99 100-499 500-999 1,000-4,999 5,000+ Projected IT Spending for Next Quarter Aug 2017 (4Q) vs. Nov 2017 (1Q 2018) Source: 451 Research 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Aug ’17 Survey Nov ’17 Survey 16% 19% 57% 57% 16% 15% Increase Remain the Same Decrease/No Spending ed devices elopment? rencing and collaboration 6 7 e touch Never HD Audio with background noise supression (No mute requir d) Source: Spiceworks 20% 0% Price Existing relationship Trust / reputation Positive prior experience E 1-99 100-499 500-999 1,000-4,999 5,000+ Projected IT Spending for Next Quarter Aug 2017 (4Q) vs. Nov 2017 (1Q 2018) Source: 451 Research 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Aug ’17 Survey Nov ’17 Survey 16% 19% 57% 57% 16% 15% Increase Remain the Same D crease/No Spending Corporate Market: Mobile Operating Systems on Future Smartphones Source: 451 Research 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% iOS (Apple) Android (Google) Blackberry OS Windows Phone 77% 74% 44% 39% 9% 7% 6% 6% Aug ’17 Survey Nov ’17 Survey Channel Vision | March - April, 2018 68