Economy boosts CIO budgets, as AI helps IBM, says Morgan Stanley

CIOs in the U.S. and Europe are increasing their IT budgets thanks to an uptick in optimism, said Morgan Stanley in a new report. IT budgets are expected to grow 4.5% this year, "a tick above the historical average," according to a survey 100 CIOs of large firms in the U.S. and Europe. The top spending priorities include cloud computing, security software, analytics tools, networking equipment and ERP and CRM applications, Morgan Stanley said in its report, "CIO Survey: 2017 IT Budgets Improve on US Strength." Most hardware categories, including servers, printers and desktops, ranked near the bottom of the budget priority list as spending shifts to the cloud. IBM, which has seen ongoing revenue declines, is still having particular success with A.I., Morgan Stanley found.