The global IT spend is expected to decline by 4.7 per cent this year withcompanies worldwide revising the amount incurred on it amid the ongoingeconomic slump, Gartner survey said.

The Chief Information Officer (CIOs)responding to the survey in the first quarter now report a weighted averagedecline of 4.7 per cent (for the year), Gartner said. About 54 per cent of therespondents reported no change in their IT budget, while the remaining four percent said they had increased their IT budget for the year.

Gartner surveyed about 900 CIOs in March and April this year to gauge thepotential impact of macroeconomic concerns on IT budgets. In the first quarterof 2009, the CIOs had experienced significant IT budget revisions as executivesgained a greater understanding and solidified plans for addressing the globalfinancial crisis.

"Renegotiating vendor contracts and head count reductions were the primaryfocus areas for accommodating budget reductions. CIOs said more work would beshifted to in-house resources and delayed capital expenditure more thanreducing IT project investments," Gartner EXP Group vice president andResearch Head Mark McDonald said.

The survey said that the largest dip in IT budget was in professionalservices-- telecommunications and technology at 10 per cent, manufacturing at 8per cent, both utilities and financial services at 4 per cent.

Healthcare-related industries, however, reported an average budget increase of2.2 per cent.The survey found that CIOs expect the economy to recover between the first andthird quarter of 2010.