Two-thirds of Irish CIOs expect budgets to increase in next three years

Nearly two-thirds – or 63pc – of Irish financial services CIOs and IT decision-makers expect their IT budgets will increase in the next three years, new research unveiled at the Fujitsu World Tour in Dublin revealed.

Possible factors for the increase in expenditure include improved market conditions, expansion and the replacement of existing infrastructure.

The research by ICT solutions provider Fujitsu, which included areas of financial services such as insurance, retail banking and investment banking, also listed security as the overriding concern of CIOs and IT decision-makers, with 67pc of those asked identifying it as the reason why cloud computing is not an enabler for change in their organisation.

The findings were announced at the Fujitsu World Tour, a worldwide showcase of the latest trends in technology and hardware, which arrived in Ireland for the first time this year at the Convention Centre Dublin.

The research findings also pointed to the differing levels of importance placed on the role of the CIO and IT decision-maker, with more than one-third (37pc) stating they are the lead decision-makers within their organisations. However, only 10pc described themselves as a key influencer in IT solutions.

Security concerns

“The research reflects both the optimism and concerns of CIOs, whose function and role within Irish business is evolving,” said Regina Moran, CEO of Fujitsu Ireland.

“With concerns such as security and the role of the cloud an ongoing issue, it’s important that companies and their CIOs are supported to achieve a return on investment.”

“Other notable data from the research shows that mobile solutions are not a priority for Irish CIOs and IT decision-makers, however, 60pc believe that being involved in mobile offerings provides a better competitive position.

“Security was again highlighted as an issue, as 37pc of participants believed it was a barrier to deploying a successful mobile offering,” Moran said.