"IBM is much more based on open source and tends to be a bit more flexible, and Microsoft needs to interoperate with everyone else so it doesn't get much choice but to be open, at least at the edges."

Storage and server spending is also on the rise, with 40 percent and 43 percent of respondents respectively planning to spend more in these areas. Overall, 21 percent of companies plan to spend more this year on hardware generally.

The main losers from this budget outlook are services, with 30 percent of firms aiming to reduce spending in areas such as outsourcing and managed services.

This tightening of services is set to hit application management outsourcing the hardest, with 41 percent of firms ready to reduce funding in this area, as they replace outsourced legacy applications.

Consultants and system integrators should not be too affected by the tightening of services though, as they are the logical companions for increased spending on security software, applications development activity, servers and storage, Higgins reports.