CIOs expecting IT spending to grow in 2017

Chief information officers (CIOs) in healthcare said they’re more likely than IT professionals in other industries to increase their budgets in 2017, according to a new Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO survey.

Of the 190 companies that responded to the survey, 52 percent said they plan to increase IT spending next year, compared to the 45 percent of CIOs across all industries. Some 35 percent of healthcare CIOs said their budgets would remain the same and only 13 percent indicated they would decrease.

The press release along with the survey said the industry could use the extra investment.

“Despite significant increases in IT spending in recent years, the maturity of IT investment in healthcare is still lagging versus other industries and healthcare companies know they need to catch up,” said Vince Vickers, KPMG’s healthcare technology leader. “Healthcare organizations have significant operational cost pressures now more than ever, and there is an opportunity to close that gap quickly with disruptive technologies and analytic tools that open the door to the notion of the ‘creative CIO.’”

The survey said healthcare is lagging behind other industries in valuable technology skills. For example, 45 percent of healthcare CIOs said their IT functions are struggling from a shortage of knowledge on big data and analytics, compared to 39 percent of CIOs across all industries.

Recognizing the importance of IT doesn’t appear to be an issue, as 80 percent of healthcare CIOs said they see a growing strategic role in their organizations. Turning that role into action is the problem: only half of respondents said they have a “clear digital business strategy and vision,” either throughout the organization or within certain units, which is lower than other industries.