IT spending to improve in 2004

IT spending to improve in 2004: "After low year-end spending in 2003, businesses are likely to spend more on information technology than what they have budgeted for 2004, according to market research firm Gartner.

Gartner's weekly survey of decision makers in small, midsize and large companies revealed that businesses continued to spend lower than their budgets in 2003.

Growth in hardware spending is expected to be more modest. Although there may be more units sold, falling prices of hardware means that companies won't have to greatly increase their spending, Gartner said. IT managers in businesses are planning to spend more on mobile devices such as handhelds and notebooks, while spending on desktops and storage devices may go down. "