Irish businesses rank highly for tech spend, survey shows

Ireland outstrips the UK, Germany and the US for investment in technology

“Irish organisations are leading the charge when it comes to investment in tech.” Photograph: iStock
“Irish organisations are leading the charge when it comes to investment in tech.” Photograph: iStock

Irish companies continue to spend big on IT, according to a new survey. Business here ranks above Britain, Germany and the United States for investment in technology.

A new survey by tech recruitment firm Harvey Nash of more than 4,000 chief information officers (CIOs), including more than 300 in Ireland, shows 51 per cent of Irish companies are operating with bigger budgets, 5 per cent above the global average.

In addition to making the top 10 list of countries investing in tech, the survey shows that Ireland is the third most stable environment for companies to operate in, behind only Australia and Denmark.

As well as raising IT budgets higher than their counterparts in many other countries, CIOs in Ireland were found to be much more likely to be planning on increasing their outsourcing spend.

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Cyber threats

Almost a third of Irish IT buyers said they had faced a major cybersecurity threat over the last year, which is below the global average rate.

Ireland also makes it into the top 10 for the number of CIOs reporting a pay rise.

"Irish organisations are leading the charge when it comes to investment in tech, something which is very promising for both businesses and the economy as a whole, as we position ourselves as Europe's tech hub," said Harvey Nash Ireland managing director Sonya Curley.

“These statistics, combined with increasing salaries and less job-hopping, underline the economic optimism and stability in Ireland in the wake of seismic shifts in global politics, and have undoubtedly helped lay the foundations for economic growth and investment – particularly in the tech industry,” she added.

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor is a former Irish Times business journalist