Bangalore: A preview Global CIOs survey done by research and advisory firm Gartner revealed that infrastructure was the number one priority for Indian CIOs in 2004.

CRM and IT performance were also on top of the Indian CIOs priority list for 2004, a Gartner statement said.

The survey revealed that CIOs across the world named "demonstrating business value of IS/IT" and "developing leadership in the IS senior team" as their top management priority for 2004. Whereas Indian CIOs named their priorities as "developing leadership in the IS senior team" and "making IS more service oriented".

Globally, CIOs referred to security and cost control as the key business imperative and top business trends for 2004. Whilst many CIOs interviewed revealed a growth outlook, however across the globe a combination of cost control and security/privacy concerns is viewed as the primary reason to place a significant drag to growth on many enterprises through 2004.

The annual survey also revealed that IS budget growth is likely to be staggered over time. More that 40 per cent of CIOs surveyed suggested IT growth will return to the sector in the latter stages of 2004. Enterprises expect their IT budgets to grow in line with the recovery. Breaking away enterprises are already making that investment, but for many enterprises IS budget growth and investment will be delayed into 2004.

Overall, IT budgets are set to pick up for most enterprises by an average of 1.2 per cent. Breaking away enterprises are making significant investment in IT with budgets increasing by 6.9 per cent. But this average hides important details, fighting for survival enterprises are still seeing IT budgets decline by 4.4 per cent. Fighting for survival enterprises still find themselves in cost cutting mode, Gartner said.

PTI