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By Will Sturgeon, 15 January 2002 11:20

NEWS Hopes that 2002 would see an increase in tech spending have been dashed in part by varying claims from analysts and research houses. Forrester Research has said companies are going to keep a tight grip on their purse strings, with no long-term investments planned for 2002. According to the Wall Street Journal, the research house said companies will only spend money where they are likely to see an immediate return on investment. Spending on long-term IT projects will be put on a back burner - suggesting 2003 will more likely see a real change in fortunes for the beleaguered IT sector. Merrill Lynch has supported this theory, saying 2002 is likely to see just a three per cent increase in IT spend on 2001, while in 2003 the figure will be closer to eight or nine per cent. Analyst house Gartner has added to the air of pessimism, warning that 2002 will offer little respite for technology firms. Gartner has warned that job cuts and business failures are likely to be a major theme again and said firms relying on returns from wireless applications and CRM are likely to be among the worst hit. However, the Wall Street Journal added that IT spend is likely to be slightly buoyed by plans to replace hardware lost in the 11 September terrorist attacks in New York. While it is a factor that few will feel comfortable addressing, Lehman Brothers reportedly lost 30 to 40 per cent of its hardware in the World Trade Centre and will be spending heavily to replace it. Morgan Stanley, which was also hit hard by the attacks, will also need to spend heavily according to the paper.