Over 90 Percent Firms Reduce IT Budget in First Quarter of 2009 Date:   Monday , June 29, 2009 Reeling under the credit crunch, more than 90 percent firms have reduced their IT budget in the first quarter of 2009, reveals a worldwide survey of 900 CIOs by Gartner Executive Programs (EXP) from March 1 to April 30, 2009. The CIOs, who are accountable for more than $77 billion revised IT spending, reported under this study an average decline of 4.7 percent in the spend. About 46 percent of respondents said that their 2009 IT budget had changed after it was finalized, with more than 90 percent of these changes effecting a reduction in the spending at an average of 7.2 percent. The remaining 54 percent of respondents reported no change in their IT budget, while a four percent reported an increase in the IT budget. However, CIOs in healthcare related industries reported an average budget increase of 2.2 percent. The largest decline was in professional services at -10 percent, while the reduction in the financial services was less at -4 percent. “CIOs reported that renegotiating vendor contracts and headcount reductions were the primary focused areas for accommodating budget reductions,” says Mark McDonald, Group Vice President and Head of Research for Gartner EXP.