Survey: ‘Optimism Returns to the Channel’
CompTIA Business Confidence report reveals a renewed optimism as IT execs report strengthen balance sheets and predict growth in health care, green IT, and virtualization markets.
The CompTIA IT Industry Business Confidence Index showed an enormous leap of faith among channel pros in December 2009 compared to survey responses done in the other 11 months of the year.
The trade organization reports that its December rating jumped 6.3 points to 56.6, marking it the first time net positive opinions exceeded net negative opinions in 2009.
CompTIA‘s IT Industry Business Confidence Index is an aggregation of three metrics: opinions of the U.S. economy, opinions of the IT industry, and opinions of one’s company. The survey was conducted in mid-December among a sample of more than 300 U.S.-based IT companies, including IT solution providers, VARs, hardware and software firms, and others.
CompTIA reports that over the next six months, IT industry executives expect further strengthening of the U.S. economy, the IT industry, and their companies. CompTIA itself is forecasting an additional 6.5 point increase in confidence over that same time period.
“Many macro-economic indicators have improved over the past six months, lending factual support to the positive perceptions of IT executives,” says CompTIA vice president of research Tim Herbert. “Yet some big unknowns still loom, such as unemployment, the impact of public sector debt, and the tight lending and credit market. Until these factors start to turn around, exuberance about an economic recovery will rightfully be tempered.”
Herbert adds that the impact on the IT industry will be evident as executives perform the delicate balancing act of investing in the future through research and development and new business investments, while at the same time maintaining cutting costs.
Among other positive findings from the December survey, 34 percent of IT executives said they intend to increase capital expenditures in the next six months (compared to 24 percent in September), and 31 percent of IT executives plan to increase staffing (up from 24 percent in the September survey).
IT industry executives predict the global IT spending growth rate will be in the 2-4 percent range in 2010, with the U.S. market trailing slightly. Executives are most bullish on IT services, which they predict will grow 2.5 percent to 5.5 percent in 2010.
When asked about 2010 market opportunities, responding IT executives reported being most interested in:
- Security products and services
- Healthcare IT market
- Green IT opportunities
- Virtualization products and services
Executives surveyed for CompTIA’s IT Industry Business Confidence Index also identified several macro level trends to watch in 2010:
- 75 percent of executives think the trend of consumer technologies exerting influence on the enterprise will continue to accelerate.
- 80 percent said businesses will accelerate their use of alternative business applications via a software-as-a service model.
- 78 percent believe reliance on mobility, telework, and virtual offices will grow this year.
The full report is available at no cost to CompTIA members at www.CompTIA.org.
