Midsize companies across the globe, or firms with 500 or fewer employees, remain unperturbed by the ongoing economic crisis, and are in fact, considering more information technology (IT) investments amid these difficult times.

In a survey commissioned by technology giant IBM, despite the need to cut costs, these companies have not been deterred from their plans for IT.

More than two-thirds are planning or currently implementing priority IT projects, including security solutions, social media, cloud computing and "green" IT, the IBM survey said.

According to IBM, one of the highest-priority technology concerns, chosen by 75 percent of respondents, is managing information, the survey said, adding that these companies are "drowning in a sea of data."

The 17-country survey was conducted in April-May, and involved some 1,879 business and IT decision makers in 17 countries to get recent, real-time insights into their business plans and challenges, growth/innovation strategies, IT purchasing trends, and industry-specific pain points, IBM said.

Despite the current economic environment, an unexpectedly large percentage of organizations are rethinking, not reducing, when it comes to budget.

A total of 53 percent report that their IT budgets are actually increasing (14 percent) or remaining the same but with changing priorities (39 percent).

Ten percent report no change, while 37 percent are reducing their budget. According to study data, most are holding or increasing their budgets to use IT to help drive efficiencies or reduce costs in other areas of the business or better connect with customers.

IBM said aside from identifying the areas for investments, midsize firms also recognize some of the most pressing business challenges.

About 80 percent of the respondents identified increasing efficiency and productivity, as one of these pressing issues while some 74 percent indicated "improving customer care" as a major concern.

Some 72 percent of respondents meanwhile identified better use of information as a key issue.

Despite the economy, more than two-thirds of those surveyed are planning or currently implementing their top IT priorities.

In terms of partnerships, a majority of firms view their primary IT provider as a technology advisor or IT and business consultant, with 25 percent seeing the relationship as purely transactional. On the other hand in terms of cutting costs, the impact of the economy on IT budgets has caused 53 percent to actually increase or re-prioritize their spending, with 37 percent reporting a decrease, the survey said.

“Midmarket organizations openly acknowledge the challenges posed by the current economy, but they are not paralyzed into inaction. In spite of tough economic conditions and concerns about lack of implementation skills, they are continuing to spend and plan against their key IT projects to support their business goals,” said Chestnut Andaya, country manager for general business, IBM Philippines.

The executive added that “the study clearly shows that midsize companies, which we believe will be the engines that lead us back to economic growth, are being cautiously optimistic and proactive."

"IBM is more than willing to sit down and discuss these useful findings to all midmarket companies in the Philippines. We are committed to provide smarter solutions (tailor-fit for the midmarket) to help overcome the current economic slump,” she said.

Aside from the above-mentioned concerns, a third set business priorities center around improving business agility and decision making, with close to three out of four study participants giving high priority to improving their ability to predict market trends," the survey further said.

With the current financial climate and concerns about barriers to successful implementation of IT projects, more than two-thirds are planning or currently implementing their top IT priorities.

IBM further said this year’s survey also illustrates the growing role of emerging technologies, such as cloud computing, green IT, and social media - areas that were not even included in a similar IBM study conducted in 2007.

While lower on the scale of critical priorities, midmarket companies are actively pursuing several emerging technology areas to improve performance.