Only 18% of UK IT spending is devoted to innovation.
Research from CA Technologies suggests that businesses in the UK must embrace new technologies in order to stay globally competitive.
According to the study, the country with the highest innovation spend is Brazil, with 29%.
The study also revealed that UK businesses also spend less time on activities that are part of the innovation process.
Only 23% of UK respondents significantly focused on 'exploring the unknown' compared to a 35% worldwide average.
CA Technologies says the findings do not project a positive outlook for UK enterprises since benefits of innovation include higher customer satisfaction (33%) increased profits (31%) and competitive advantage (28%).
However, the study also reveals that IT spending is likely to increase by 10 to 30% in the next year with mobile and cloud computing receiving the most investment.
"IT leaders find themselves on the precipice of a significant transformation; the business now expects IT to innovate in order to support revenue-driving initiatives, while also optimising the delivery of mainstream IT," said Colin Bannister, VP and CTO, at CA Technologies UKI. "We refer to this as The Innovation Imperative and it is a reality that many organisations face today."
The study suggests that the relationship between IT and the businesses is often challenges and may be impacting on an organisations ability to innovate.
Only 20% of UK respondents reported a collaborative process between IT and an organisation when it came to organisation. The global average is currently 30%.
However, the study found that the biggest obstacles to innovation are lack of available budget and time as well as information overload.
IT teams must evolve and embrace the practices that foster innovation in order to stay aligned with the business," added Bannister. 'Keeping the lights on' is no longer enough."
