There has been a seemingly non-stop run of positive news stories for the IT industry in the UK recently. 2015 seems to be doing little to buck this upward trend! Employers group the CBI, along with accountancy giants PwC have forecast that the majority of banks and other financial institutions will raise their IT spending in the year ahead.

Around 75% of the respondents to the PwC survey indicated that IT is earmarked for budgetary dispensation. In contrast, less than 20% of respondents showed a desire to push money towards marketing, although 36% are committed to infrastructure investment to go alongside money spent on IT.

So what does this all mean then, for the IT industry and contractors? For the inside view, we spoke with Umbrella’s David Wilton, Business Development Manager: “Behind any drive to push significant funds into one particular business area – in this case IT – there are several factors at play.”

“Firstly, we can say that a desire for greater efficiency is really driving investment. Why? Because over the last few years tech focus has pushed into adopting new technologies such as Cloud computing and storage solutions that bring initial investments followed by longer term savings.”

“Beyond that, bringing on board skilled IT contractors it reinforces the ability of businesses to reach customers, both new and existing. The development of external and internal processes – think assets like new databases, data capturing software, even social media and analysis – demands IT expertise. It is a key investment area, and a great way to grow, retain and of course win business.”

“We also have to consider that IT investment comes about because of the need to showcase new services – and meet the demand for emerging products. Essentially, the IT skills behind online and traditional marketing engagements encompass the use of tech, digital platforms and other methods. The people needed to build and implement these assets and systems are the IT-trained, creative tech community that is thriving in the UK. And, as we have seen in the CBI and PwC figures, IT professionals are set to continue benefitting from increased investment this year.”