London, United Kingdom – 5 December 2024: Less than one-fifth (18%) of public sector IT professionals say that their total annual IT budget is sufficient to meet their needs, while over a quarter (27%) have experienced budget cuts in the past year that have impacted projects. That's according to new data from SolarWinds, a leading provider of simple, powerful, secure observability and IT management software.

The research, based on a survey of over 100 global public sector IT professionals, highlights that public sector IT teams are under increasing pressure to perform under limited budgets. Almost half (47%) of respondents find justifying IT expenses to upper management a constant challenge, while a further third (33%) have had IT budget requests denied in the past year.

Many anticipate a challenging year ahead, possibly due to shifts in governments and policies around the world. A third of those surveyed expect budgets to decrease over the next year and over a third (35%) find keeping up with rapidly changing tech to be a significant challenge when it comes to managing budgets.

Commenting on the findings, Sascha Giese, Global Tech Evangelist at SolarWinds, said: "This survey highlights that, despite the criticality of IT services to the functioning of the public sector, IT teams are continuously being asked to do more with less.

"The past year has undoubtedly been challenging for public sector teams across the globe, with changing governments, policies and priorities. With these teams providing vital services for all citizens, however, any pressures or budgetary challenges facing public sector IT teams aren't just isolated issues—they are risks for us all.

"The public sector needs to urgently re-evaluate its budget allocations for IT infrastructure and innovation to equip these workers with the tools and technologies to make their teams deliver better, more efficient, secure services for governments, public sector agencies, and citizens. If not, they risk falling even further behind the private sector."

Methodology

The findings of the IT Community Pulse survey are based on research fielded in September 2024, which yielded responses from over 100 respondents from SolarWinds THWACK^® community.

This includes IT professionals across a range of practitioner, manager, and director roles in Europe, the Americas, and Asia Pacific regions.