Though the IT spending picture looks murky, most experts appear to agree that U.S. companies are scaling back on their tech budgets for the foreseeable future.

SMBs are a notable exception, as I've written previously.

The latest confirmation comes from a study by Arrow Enterprise Computing Solutions. Wall Street Journal blogger Ben Worthen notes that, according to the study, 61 percent of tech execs from mid-size companies (500 to 3,000 employees) say they expect to be able to spend more on IT in 2009. Not only that, but 34 percent of them say the slumping economy has had no impact on their jobs.

Yet all isn't necessarily well for these companies. While 65 percent of respondents say their companies are keeping up with technology, 21 percent say they are lagging. Several surveys, including a recent one from IDC, seem to show that SMBs will continue to focus on bread-and-butter technology like security improvements rather than emerging technologies.