The aerospace and defense industry continues to increase spending on IT and continues to feel it is getting business value for that spending. Although most respondents claim to see IT merely as a cost of doing business, more companies say they have become quick adopters of new and emerging IT. One thing nearly all respondents agreed on was that the industry would see a shortage of IT and aerospace engineering skills in the next five years.

The annual A&D industry survey is sponsored by Aviation Week and Space Technology Magazine, the Aerospace Industries Association, and CSC.

Just over 60 percent of respondents reported spending more on IT than in FY2004. The most frequent answer given for the change is simply a “standard increase.”

The majority of respondents still feel they are getting value for their IT expenditures. Unfortunately, that majority is lower than it was in last year’s survey, when 69.1 percent said they were getting a good return in business value from their IT spending.

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