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Matthew Brown, Managing Director of giant group, said: “After two years of contraction, the IT sector is at last turning a corner. Growth is still quite modest, however, and the Government could do more to help small businesses establish themselves, grow and create jobs.
“IT is very dependent on investment, but with businesses hoarding cash, spending on IT has taken a hit. With the eurozone crisis appearing to stabilise, hopefully what we are starting to see now is organisations push the button on IT projects which were put on hold during the recession.
“IT investment is crucial to boosting productivity. If businesses do not invest in IT, their long-term competitiveness will suffer. Organisations now have a lot of legacy systems in place which require upgrading. With the economic outlook improving, IT departments should hopefully get the green light to spend.”
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For example, insurers and retailers have been spending heavily on IT, boosting demand for skills. Insurers have been hiring hybrid actuarial/IT specialists to work on Solvency II projects, while retailers have been scaling up investment in online platforms, particularly m-commerce, which allows consumers to shop via mobile and tablet devices.
In other areas, such as banking and the public sector, investment in IT is still quite muted and may remain below pre-recession levels for some time yet.
Matthew Brown said: “It’s still very much a mixed picture, with some sectors investing while in others spending remains subdued. That said, demand for contractors is holding up reasonably well compared to demand for permanent candidates, even in sectors were investment levels are low.”
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Susie Hughes © Shout99 2012
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