Information technology Vendors: expect growth -- slow growth -- in enterprise IT spending during 2003. IT consultants: prepare to scramble even more for the key opportunity in your sector, outsourcing.
Those are just two of the consensus trends that tech researchers and analysts are forecasting for the coming year in IT services. Surveys from all the major tech research firms show that overhang from IT investments during the dot-com boom still has to cycle through enterprise networks ahead of any potential big spending decisions. In addition, as many corporations wrap up their budgeting process for 2003, surveys show their IT budgets remain tight.
John Gantz, chief research officer at tech research firm IDC, is calling for a return to spending growth, but only in the range of 2 percent to 5 percent in the IT and telecommunications sectors.
"However, these gains will not lift all sectors of the industry equally. Hardware spending and wireless services will benefit the most from increased spending over the near term, while IT consulting will continue to languish," he noted. IDC said it expects overall technology spending growth to remain in the single digits for the foreseeable future, down from the double digit annual growth that characterized much of the last decade.
"Project-based IT services will be flat or down again in 2003 as companies focus on smaller, short-term projects and managed services," noted Gantz.
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News source: IneternetNews
