Gartner, the IT consultancy, recently conducted a survey of more than 2,300 CIOs worldwide to better understand their top priorities, challenges and opportunities for 2012. The survey found that technology spending will grow this year in the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America, but offsetting declines in Europe and North America.

On a global weighted-average basis, CIO IT budgets are anticipated to be essentially flat for 2012, said the survey.

Appetite for investment appeared strongest in Latin America, where IT budgets were set to rise 12.7 percent, and in the Asia-Pacific region, where IT budgets will rise 3.4 percent, the survey found. Investment will fall 0.6 percent in North America and 0.7 percent in Europe.

Gartner said larger organizations, or those with IT budgets of more than $500 million, were continuing to cut expenditure.

It surveyed CIOs from 37 industries and 45 countries, who oversee a total IT budget of $321 billion.