University Business - December 2007 - (Page 44)

TECHNOLOGY Spending Survey both public (56.8 percent) and private (43.2 percent) institutions of various sizes. The full results, broken down by category, can be found on our website. IT Budget: 2007 versus 2006 How has your overall IT budget changed in this past ﬁscal year compared to last year? THE BIG PICTURE Overall, 51 percent of respondents reported an increase in IT budgets, 32 percent of respondents reported no change between allocations for 2007 compared to 2006, and an unfortunate 16 percent of responding institutions reported a reduction in tech budget dollars. It is perhaps no surprise that private institutions, which don’t have state governments dictating spending, are more likely to have increased IT budgets. Broken down by degrees granted, institutions that grant bachelor’s degrees are leading the charge in increases. But while nearly a third of schools reported no change in tech budgets, that doesn’t mean they aren’t still supplying their students and faculty with the latest innovations. The reason? Declining technology costs are allowing IHEs to do more with the dollars they have. Witness, for example, the dramatic drop in the cost of a desktop computer in the last few years. “What we’re seeing with budgets increasing is that institutions are preparing for changes in the competitive landscape,” says Nicole Engelbert, lead analyst, Education & Vertical Markets Technology for Datamonitor. “They are investing in the longer term to recruit and retain students and interact with alumni and other constituents. Technology allows them to do more with the same or less in terms of spending.” 35% _ 30% _ 51.2% reported an increasing IT budget Flat 32.2% % Respondents 25% _ 20% _ 15% _ 10% _ 5% _ 0% _ Only 16.5% reported a decreasing IT budget IT Budget Increased substantially Increased only minimally Decreased only minimally Decreased substantially Increased Flat Decreased 51 percent of respondents reported an increase in IT budgets. puters, while the reverse is true at institutions that grant associate degrees. At the same time, institutions with fewer than 500 students ranked enterprise software 4 out of 7 for impact on budget, while institutions in the 500-2,499 and 20,000-29,999 range both ranked it 5.7. Engelbert theorizes that smaller institutions could get by without an ERP or SIS, while the larger institutions are ﬁnding it necessary to purchase a more expensive version. “PeopleSoft is going universitybusiness.com WHERE THE MONEY GOES Just what is capturing IT dollars is greatly inﬂuenced by the size and type of institution doing the spending. Despite decreasing technology costs, computer hardware and enterprise software still claimed the biggest portions of most budgets. Interestingly, for doctorate granting institutions, spending on enterprise software ranks higher than spending on desktop com44 | December 2007 http://universitybusiness.com

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University Business - December 2007 Contents College Index Company Index Advisory Board Editor's Note Behind the News Viewpoint Admissions On The Hill Marketing Future Stock Independent Outlook Technology Spending Survey '08 Conference Call A Working Education 30 Smart Business Ideas Educause in Emerald City What's New Calendar of Events End Note

University Business - December 2007

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