• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, March 17, 2002

The recently released AMR Research quarterly survey for Q4 2001 shows a planned increase in e-business budgets of 9 percent, up from 7 percent in the previous quarter. The percentage of companies that plan to increase spending continues to increase, from 60 percent in Q3 2001 to 66 percent in Q4.

President and Chief Executive Officer Tony Friscia, during the AMR Research's Strategy 21 Conference, said "We view the coming year as a year of prioritization -- forcing companies to look at the fundamentals that impact their bottom line, with incremental purchases on technology that demonstrate an ability to deliver a rapid ROI." Companies continue to assess the risks and rewards of any IT budget allocations by first defining key success metrics.

The majority of overall e-business spending focused in areas that drive revenue, including sales and customer management initiatives. Key findings in the report include:

- Upward trend in consumer confidence and increased spending in the automotive, retail and housing markets.
- Companies continue to invest IT dollars in the sell-side of their businesses, with a renewed interest in customer management initiatives.
- Companies are spending more on the development of internal staff and less on outside consultants with headcount and training increasing from 12 percent to 18 percent of overall e-business budget allocation.
- 72 percent of mid-market companies plan to increase spending on e-Business, up from 54 percent in the previous quarter.
- User success stories of technology will drive new spending late in 2002 as companies watch to see which emerging technologies have helped other companies achieve a competitive advantage.

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