A cool 19 per cent of these decision-makers are ready to spend 10 per cent or more on their IT in 2024, while a measly four percent are tightening their belts. Half are just sitting pretty with the same old budget.

The big spenders? Finance, manufacturing, and communications/media are leading the charge, leaving education, retail, and healthcare in the digital dust. 

It's all about staying on the right side of the law, with European bigwigs like the Digital Services Act and the AI Act making sure everyone's playing nice with data and cyber security.

Globally, the spend is on cyber security (65 per cent) and information management (54 per cent), with a special shoutout to application development (52 per cent) in the EMEA zone.

When it comes to networking, 65 per cent of tech gurus are investing in network security. Think VPNs, firewalls, and zero-trust networks—that's where the action is for 2024.

Cloud is still important but don't count out on-premises storage – it's still got game. In fact cloud strategies are taking a slight dip, with 36 per cent of EMEA's finest opting for a cloud-first approach, down from last year's figures.

Public cloud big shots like AWS are seeing a shift, too—it's less about new moves and more about making the most of what you've got. At 35 per cent, DevOps is king of software development, with API management and serverless tech receiving more love than last year.

On the enterprise app front, a hefty 66 per cent are betting big on ERP, with supply chain and GRC not far behind. And for the customer-centric tools? North America's all about that GenAI life, while EMEA's digging customer service tools (34 per cent).

As for end-user computing, EMEA is all about productivity, with PC refreshes taking the silver medal. Windows 11 is only sixth in line for an upgrade.

Communication and collaboration tools are getting a tidy-up, with 30 per cent looking to consolidate their platforms.