So where is today’s hardware dollar really going in the IT industry? Security of course. And man, is the money flying!

Gary Beach and CIO Magazine are reporting [PDF] that 69.8% of CIOs are planning IT spending increases in 2006. That’s great news for the tech industry, with an average 7.8% increase across the board.

Of course, stats being what they are, CIO Insight (a competitor to CIO Magazine) has its own survey of 115 senior information technology executives, and is reporting a 1.3 percent decline in IT spending in 2006 among companies with more than $500 million in sales. For those under $500 million, the survey reveals a 6% increase…and IDC and Gartner are both predicting 5% increases. Why the disparities? Baseline suggests that it may have to do with disparities in how IT is now being planned and budgeted. [Read the rest]