According to a new Gartner survey, despite companies driving down overall IT budgets this year things are looking good for global software spending in 2010. Well, I say good, but perhaps I should say a teensy weensy little bit better than this year. Gartner reckons that organisations surveyed indicated that software budgets will be rising in 2010 by an average of, cue drum roll, er 1.53 percent.

By region, 30 percent of companies in Asia/Pacific, 28 percent in North America and 25 per cent in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) said they expected their 2010 IT budget to increase. Overall, North America is still expecting software spending to decline 2.06 per cent, and EMEA is only slightly positive at 0.45 per cent for 2010 compared with 2009. Software budgets in Latin America will rise 2.54 per cent, and in Asia/Pacific, software budgets will increase 4.34 per cent, showing a very positive trend in increasing their software spending in 2010.

"Software vendors should continue to build, fund and invest in software sales and marketing programmes, even during tight market conditions to maintain customers and expand revenue opportunities," said Joanne Correia, managing vice president at Gartner. "A market downturn is a disrupter that creates great marketing and sales opportunities for organisations prepared to take advantage of the right products, marketing programs and funding."