Starting in the year 2000, many medium-sized IT organizations began cutting their IT training budgets. The lowest year in that four-year period was 2003. However, IT training budgets are finally gaining a little ground, according to preliminary estimates from our 2004 Information Systems Spending study. The annual study defines medium organizations as having revenues between $250 million and $750 million.
In 2000 the IT training budget accounted for 2.3% of the total IT budget in medium organizations. This was the highest year so far in the new millennium, but still was significantly lower than the mid 1990s mark of 2.9%. In 2003, IT training budgets dropped to only 2.0% of the total IT budget, marking that year as the lowest since Computer Economics began publishing this study in 1990.
However, our 2004 preliminary findings indicate that IT training budgets will bounce back significantly this year. Computer Economics projects that IT training budgets in medium organizations will rise to 2.5% this year. This is good news for many IT organizations that are fighting desperately to increase employee morale and ensure their technical teams are staying current as technology continues a rapid evolution.
Figure 1
IT Training Budgets as a Percentage of the Total IT Budget – 2000 through 2004
|
Medium Organizations Annual Revenues: $250M – $750M |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
(projection) 2004 |
|
IT Training Budget as a Percentage of Total IT Budget |
2.3% |
2.1% |
2.2% |
2.0% |
2.5% |
February 2004
Computer Economics’ annual Information Systems Spending study has assisted hundreds of senior IT managers in making critical budget and technology forecasting decisions for almost 15 years. To order your copy, contact Computer Economics at 1-800-326-8100 ext. 123.