IT directors are worried about tackling growing workloads, as budgets for their departments are at a standstill.
This was the finding of a new survey from ReThink Recruitment, which found a massive 91 per cent of directors were concerned about delivering IT projects within budget.
IT is vital to how most organisations function, but the overwhelming majority of IT directors are concerned about delivering projects and support with the resources they have.
Whilst 89 per cent of those questions expected workloads to increase the highest percentage in the study for three years just 39 per cent expected their budgets to rise in line with the demands, leaving many questioning whether they could handle the projects they face in 2012.
There was also a rise in the number of IT departments expecting their budgets to be taken away, with 36 per cent admitting the fear up from 29 per cent last year.
"IT is vital to how most organisations function, but the overwhelming majority of IT directors are concerned about delivering projects and support with the resources they have," said Michael Bennett, director ofReThink Recruitment.
"If IT directors struggle to deliver quality, competitiveness could be undermined and the ability of organisations to function as they should will be seriously impaired."
This isn't just concerns about projects but concerns about keeping staff. Whilst some companies are prioritising IT, others are making cuts and this leads to talent looking elsewhere.
"The problem IT directors face is that the weapons they would normally have in their arsenal to fend off raids by competitors to poach key staff have been significantly blunted. Department heads will need to find innovative ways to engage with, motivate and retain key personnel."
However, whilst over a third of IT directors were seeing cuts, 43 per cent showed some light at the end of the tunnel, having seen budgets rise in 2011 up from 39 per cent in 2010.
But Bennett concluded companies must examine their investment into IT, else face putting their business' future at risk.
"While the importance attached to IT has grown enormously in recent years, in the current economic environment, with businesses focused on strengthening balance sheets, there is a temptation to underspend on IT," he said.
"The concern now is that businesses are not investing enough, potentially jeopardising their long term competitiveness."
