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IT spending

1 - IT Budgets Holding SteadyIT Budgets Holding Steady

On average, IT professionals surveyed plan to invest $291,062 on IT products and services this year. Only 33% of respondents expect 2015 budgets to increase from 2014 levels.

2 - Top Drivers of IT SpendingTop Drivers of IT Spending

More than two-thirds (67%) of IT pros cite end-of-life support as the driving force behind new purchases. More than half of desktops and notebooks are more than 4 years old, and 20% are more than 7 years old.

3 - The Looming Windows 2003 DeadlineThe Looming Windows 2003 Deadline

Nearly two-thirds (65%) of companies have at least one instance of Windows Server 2003 running in their environment. The end-of-life deadline for Windows Server 2003 is July 14.

4 - Hardware Still Dominates IT SpendingHardware Still Dominates IT Spending

IT pros plan to spend 41% of their 2015 IT budget on hardware solutions, including new desktops, laptops, networking and server solutions. One-fifth (20%) will go to desktops, 19% to servers and 15% to laptops; 10% will be spent on networking, 8% on external storage and 7% on tablets/mobile.

5 - Software Spending Remains SteadySoftware Spending Remains Steady

IT professionals plan to spend 33% of their 2015 budget on software projects this year: 17% on operating systems, 16% on productivity apps, 14% on virtualization, 11% on backup/disaster recovery, 10% on databases, 9% on CRM/ERP and 8% on security.

6 - New Software InvestmentsNew Software Investments

Of the new software investments planned for 2015, 24% of purchases will focus on virtualization and 23% will be investments in new operating systems to replace end-of-life systems. Backup/disaster recovery follows closely behind at 22%.

7 - Online Backup and Recovery Leads to the CloudOnline Backup and Recovery Leads to the Cloud

IT pros will spend 12% of their annual budgets on hosted/cloud-based projects in 2015. Of that, 18% will be for email hosting, 16% for Web hosting, 13% for online backup/recovery, 7% for application hosting and 6% for industry-specific apps.

8 - Modest Gains in IT HeadcountModest Gains in IT Headcount

Only a quarter (25%) of IT organization said they will increase IT department headcount this year. And those gains are expected to be relatively modest.

9 - Managed Services Remain FlatManaged Services Remain Flat

IT pros plan to spend 10% of their annual budgets on managed services this year; 19% of the allocated budget go toward IT services, 16% toward managed services consulting, 16% on connectivity/bandwidth, 14% on hosting, 10% on storage/backup/archiving, and 9% on email/collaboration.