IT Decision Makers Evenly Split on McCain vs. Obama

IT spending decision makers are evenly split on the presidential candidate they favor and who they think would be better for the country and better for their businesses–28 percent favor Barack Obama and 28 percent favor John McCain.

That’s according to the most recent CDW IT Monitor Index that measures sentiment among IT spending decision makers.

"There are two different approaches to reinvigorating economy from different candidates, along with the fact that we have this tough economy," said Mark Gambill, the vice president at CDW responsible for the CDW IT Monitor index. "You've got governing principles that will go on wildly different directions."

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The CDW IT Monitor for August held steady at 73, which is where it was in June.  CDW conducts the survey every two months as a way to track the direct and momentum of the U.S. IT market place.

In the most recent survey, 36 percent of respondents said that election results would impact their company's IT budget decisions. A full 29 percent said that the election's outcome would affect IT staffing decisions within their companies, and nearly half–48 percent–believe the outcome will impact tax policies. Thirty-eight percent of the companies said the outcome would impact offshore outsourcing.

Government IT decision makers were slightly more upbeat in their overall sentiment with a score of 74, yet they anticipated an even greater impact from upcoming elections than did their corporate counterparts. Three out of five said they expected the outcome of the election to have a significant impact on their organizations. And 74 percent of local government organizations and 63 percent of state government organizations cite budget, taxes and the deficit as the most important election issues.

Gambill pointed out that in addition to the presidential election there are 10 gubernatorial races across the country this year as well.

"That will affect state and local budgets as well," he said. "A new governor typically brings in his own CIO."

Small businesses will be the hardest hit if the economy remains tough, said Gambill, as they look to hold off on infrastructure spend. But large corporations are also likely to push off refresh cycles as well, he said.