Half of IT bosses in the US believe their budgets will rebound strongly over the next year, according to research.

A survey by trade body the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) has reported that 51 per cent of executives expect the recovery to begin before the end of the second quarter of 2004, while almost three-quarters expect a recovery to be underway before the end of the third quarter.

More than two-thirds of the survey's respondents said they have plans to begin new remote access and mobility projects, and a third said they would focus increased budgets on security products.

Some 30 per cent expect to begin server replacement and upgrades. Software spending will focus on infrastructure upgrades, customer relationship management, portal and intranet deployment.

The survey also demonstrates the momentum behind web services, with nearly 65 per cent of respondents currently using web services technologies and standards. And two-thirds said they would begin or continue a web services project over the next year.

Fred Hoch, vice president of SIIA's software division, said: "The results of this survey are timely for all segments of the IT industry.

"As the recovery in IT spending gets underway, it's critical for IT managers to be up to date on the most appropriate products and solutions for their companies."