Organizations in Western Europe are struggling to cope with the unstable economy as many feel its constricting effect on their IT budgets. As a result, fewer companies will invest more in technologies that can improve internal operations, such as supply chain processes, according to an IDC report.

The research firm surveyed 590 companies throughout six regions of Western Europe and found that 17 percent believe their IT budgets will shrink in 2012. Nearly 40 percent of respondents believe their IT investments will increase in the coming year, although only 25 percent of these organizations will expand their budgets by 5 percent or more, the news source reported.

These habits will be similar to those seen in 2011.

"Western European organizations are huddling toward the middle in their IT budgets for 2012; their plans are tending more toward stasis," said IDC European services research director Douglas Hayward. "This will be a conservative year in which discretionary spend will be held to a minimum for most organizations."

Investing in collaboration capabilities is one way that companies can maximize moderate spending to improve supply chain management, according to an IGD report. By doing so both technologically and behaviorally, organizations may be able to withstand the economy and survive in the future.