CHICAGO – The results of CDW Corp.’s 2007 CDW Holiday IT Wish List survey shows 59 percent of IT decision makers said that their organization is somewhat likely or extremely likely to increase investment in IT in 2008.

Asked for their outlook on particular technology investments, 52 percent said that their companies are somewhat or extremely likely to increase investment in virtualization, with knowledge management in second position at 40 percent. Another 28 percent believe their organizations are somewhat or extremely likely to allow more employees to telecommute in 2008.

“As our customers – and ultimately their customers – take stock of the year past with an eye on the year ahead, it is promising to note that decision makers are seeing the value of information technology and are consequently increasing their investment in it where they can add value to their business,” said Mark Gambill, vice president of marketing at CDW.

“The Holiday IT Wish List is an enjoyable way for CDW to share in that, wish all of our customers well, and join them in some seasonal fun.”

The eight-question survey was pitched in Communispace, CDW’s online customer advisory community. A total of 626 IT decision makers from a cross-section of large, medium and small companies participated.

Asked what one gift their firm’s senior management could give them to make their jobs easier in 2008, the top responses overall were more IT staff (27 percent) and more IT budget (16 percent). However, the size of the participant’s company was a factor, as more respondents from small companies wished for more IT budget (21 percent) than IT staff (15 percent), while 31 percent from large companies wished for more IT staff and only 14 percent wished for more budget. This was a significant change from a year ago, when wishes for staff and budget overall were roughly equal. Other responses included wishes for the option to telecommute, more technology upgrades, more time to get their own work done, more training and more time off.

Participants responded with characteristic enthusiasm to an open-ended question about what they would give their senior management, if money were no object. The most frequently suggested gifts were variations on “vacation,” although the length of time off and the destinations differed according to the motivation of the respondent. Many suggested high-powered laptops or technology enhancements to improve the business, such as business intelligence systems.

Entertainment products topped the Techno-Sugarplum Index (participants’ personal wish lists) again this year, with high-definition TVs still the clear leader at 24 percent, followed by the Nintendo Wii (10 percent), digital SLR camera (9 percent), iPods (8 percent), home theater systems (8 percent) and other entertainment devices.

Asked what technology news stories were most important to them in 2007, virtualization and the markets response to Microsoft Windows Vista tied for top choice at 18 percent, although responses from larger companies favored virtualization while responses from smaller companies leaned toward Vista. Security, data losses and spam remain perennial hot topics, with 9 percent of respondents selecting them, and “green/energy-efficient IT” made a new showing with 8 percent selecting it as the most important topic of the year.

For a copy of the report, click on CDW.Com

This column was written by Liam Lahey of

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