Most of the enterprises across industries in India are expected to see their proposed ICT budgets for 2020 decline in the aftermath of COVID-19 outbreak, according to the latest enterprise ICT decision makers’ survey 2020* from GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s, Enterprise ICT Investment Trends in India 2020 Report, reveals that about 36.2% of the enterprise ICT decision makers, who responded to the survey claimed that their enterprise ICT budgets for 2020 would decline by about 10% following the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, from what was planned before the outbreak. Another 31.4% of respondents from India claimed that their enterprise ICT budget would decline by more than 20% after the COVID-19 outbreak.

Additionally, the survey highlights that a larger percentage of enterprises would use their intended ICT budget on running or maintaining their existing ICT systems, compared to the percentage of those who believe that their enterprises would use their ICT budget for new investments.

While India was able to halt the initial rapid spread of COVID-19, the prolonged lockdown measures meant that much of the economic activities were at standstill till recently. Although, the relaxation of lockdown is expected to boost the economic activities in the short-term, it is still insufficient to make up for the revenue losses incurred by most of the businesses.  

Saurabh Daga, Technology Analyst at GlobalData, says: “This trend is in line with the weak business sentiment seen among the enterprises in India amidst the crisis. Weaker consumer demand, disruption in supply chain, tightening of cash flows and major decline in exports due to global uncertainty are the major concerns for enterprises.”