US IT Budget Benchmarks — Preparing For 2010

IT budget benchmarks continue to be a hot topic for CIOs, especially in the wake of a recession that has caused companies to cut IT budgets to the bone. To help CIOs use IT budget benchmarks to defend their budget levels, determine whether more cuts are in order, and/or build the case for increased IT spending, Forrester provides our annual IT budget benchmarks by industry, based on data from our global IT budget and spending surveys. We also offer guidance on what to measure, why IT MOOSE is the best measure to benchmark, what spending to include in IT MOOSE, and why cash-outlay-based IT budgets make better benchmarks than income-statement-based IT budgets. We also provide 2009 data on good benchmarks for enterprises by industry, based on both Forrester's Business Data Services surveys and InformationWeek 500 surveys, and better benchmarks, which reflect factors of company size and specific industry. And we provide updated recommendations on how to use the IT benchmark data constructively to improve the performance and standing of IT.