The economic crisis has increased the value that the business places on the IT department, a report produced by Accenture and the Economist Intelligence Unit has found – at least according to IT executives.

The study quizzed over 500 executives, the majority of whom have responsibility for IT. Three-quarters of those respondents said that the downturn had “brought greater acknowledgment from business unit managers and staff of how important the IT function’s objectives are to the business”. This was especially true in the US, where 87% of respondents backed that statement.

Many organisations said that the downturn had caused them to exert greater control over IT spending – by, for example, increasing return on investment criteria or defining IT project risk more clearly – but not the majority.

However, the majority of respondents did say that IT spending is expected to increase in the next 12 months, with 47% saying it would increase in selected areas, and 10% saying IT spending would increase across the board.