Spending on Tech Expected to Rise

Spending on information technology in the United States is expected to rise just 1.5% in 2002, a relatively small increase that nonetheless offers some hope for the troubled high-tech sector, according to results of a new survey.

The report released Tuesday by the Gartner Inc. research firm and the SoundView Technology Group Inc. investment bank was based on interviews with 1,000 corporate technology buyers and high-tech vendors at a recent symposium.

The survey found corporate technology spending could increase 2.5% this year--down dramatically from the initial 8% increase the companies were expecting in January.

Fifty-nine percent of the survey respondents said they spent less on technology than their budgets allowed, leaving room for more potential spending next year.

“I think there’s a huge glimmer of hope for the tech sector,” said Al Case, a Gartner senior vice president.

The survey found that the sectors that are most expected to attract next year’s technology spending are security, data storage, Web-based applications and services, and hand-held computers.

Nationwide, capital expenditures on technology total about $500 billion a year, Case said.

SoundView Technology’s chief executive, Mark Loehr, said the expectation of even a slight rise in tech spending in this poor economic environment “supports our conviction that the bottom has been reached.”