Wednesday, December 3, 2008

US IT Spending Forecast Worst Since 2001

ChangeWave's latest corporate IT purchasing survey shows an accelerating collapse in U.S. business spending that has reached historic proportions - with record pullbacks occurring both in the current 4th Quarter and going forward.

In one of the survey's few upbeat findings, the corporate smart phone market continues to show growth - with Research in Motion (RIM) maintaining its huge lead, but Apple (AAPL) continuing to make inroads in small to medium-sized businesses.

A total of 1,926 respondents involved with IT spending in their organization participated in the ChangeWave survey, conducted November 6-12, 2008.

Simply put, the IT spending projections for 1st Quarter 2009 are abysmal - the worst ever for a ChangeWave survey dating back to 2001. An unprecedented 45% of respondents say their company's IT spending will decrease (or there will be no spending at all) in the 1st Quarter - 16-pts worse than our previous survey.

Only 10% say spending will increase - a 3-pt drop from previously.

Most disturbingly, spending is plunging at a time of year when we normally experience seasonal increases. This becomes immediately apparent when you look at the change from each November - beginning with November 2003 - in the Projected IT Spending chart above.

It we also asked of respondents if their IT spending was on track thus far in the current 4th Quarter. By a wide margin, these results are also the worst on record.

Nearly four-in-ten (39%) say they've spent "Less than Planned" so far this quarter - 9-pts worse than in our previous survey. Just 8% have spent "More than Planned" - a 4-pt drop from previously.

Moreover, in the aftermath of the U.S. presidential election, respondents do not see any immediate improvement occurring in their company's IT spending. In fact, nearly half (48%) now believe IT spending won't pick up for their company until the 3rd Quarter of 2009 or later - a two-fold increase since our August survey.

More information on the IT industry can be found at www.SupportIndustry.com

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