Tibco's decision to downgrade its earnings forceasts for the year after experiencing a sudden fall out in contracts at the end of the quarter has spurred some analysts to suggest that that the ongoing credit crunch may be hitting bank IT spending budgets.

Katherine Egbert, an analyst with Jefferies and Co. notes: "Although Tibco is a relatively small vendor, their third-quarter results could be a first glimpse into a potentially larger slowdown in financial services spending."

But rather than implying a straight cut in bank budgets, it's just possible that Tibco's plight highlights a switch in IT spending priorities as investment firms struggle to deal with the fall-out from the current market turmoil.

Could Tibco's loss be the back office's gain?