Here's a piece of news worth celebrating: When companies start looking for things to put on the chopping block these days, IT is no longer the first one to go. Despite a general sense of economic uncertainty plaguing businesses, IT spending seems to be flowing relatively steadily, reports InformationWeek's Chris Murphy.

One indicator is a survey just out from the Society for Information Management, which found that more than half of the IT leaders queried expect their companies to spend more on IT this year than last. Just over half also said that next year's budget will be higher than this year's.

In previous recessions going back to the 1960s, IT tended to be one of the first candidates for budget cuts, but this time around things are different, said Jerry Luftman, a professor at Stevens Institute of Technology and a vice president at SIM. Today, even though IT remains costly and risky, it is viewed as a necessary expenditure for success and the focus is on how to best leverage it.

One of the reasons the IT budget is more likely to be spared now than in the past is that it is already quite streamlined, said Jason Maynard, a senior technology equity analyst with Wells Fargo. Another reason is that IT initiatives are seen as fundamental to the ability to be competitive. The greatest reason, though, is that technology is in the midst of dramatic change, and nobody wants to be left behind.

According to a couple different studies, IT spending is being targeted at business intelligence, cloud computing, mobility, ERP and CRM. 

For more:
- see Chris Murphy's article at InformationWeek

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