Corporate software spending is still subdued, however, since last fall, there are signs that the rate of decline in spending is leveling off, according to the RBC IQ Survey of corporate software purchasing decision-makers, released by RBC Capital Markets at its annual North American Technology, Media and Communications Conference being held 6-7 August in San Francisco.
The quarterly national survey of 1,902 executives involved with their companies’ software procurement decisions found that 25% of respondents expect their companies to spend less over the next 90 days than in the previous 90 days, and only 12% expect their companies to spend more. Nearly half of all respondents (44%) said their company has no plans at all to purchase software over the next 90 days, continuing a year-long downward trend.
Security and Virtualization are the only two software categories that appear to be weathering the storm, with both showing signs of increased spending over the next 90 days.
Among other sectors, Business Intelligence software is being pressured by the overall slowdown, and planned Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software spending also appears to be weak. Enterprise Resource Planning software is the weakest category of all going forward, slightly lower than Document & Enterprise Content Management Software.
“While the results of this survey reflect a spending environment consistent with last quarter, this does not necessarily mean we are at the bottom,” says Robert Breza, analyst of RBC Capital Markets. “The next 90 days look challenging for software manufacturers hoping to sell to corporate customers. There are some signs of a possible rebound; however, this could be threatened by both the degrading macro environment in Europe and Asia and uncertainties associated with the upcoming U.S. elections.”