Market Segments with Growth Potential in 2009
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Health care: This is a tricky one. The extent of the opportunity in
health care will have a correlation to new regulations by the new
administration, much like the environment and taxation. Whatever the
new administration does, it is likely to push a stronger emphasis on
electronic records, which would translate to work for solution
providers in the form of application development and deployment, as
well as the necessary security, hardware and networking equipment.
But an economic effect is at play in this category as well: Job cuts
and attempts by state government to control costs will have a negative
effect on the health care business. With job cuts, come the termination
of health benefits, and at least for a time, it is quite likely that
some people will do without insurance because they can't afford it,
which will translate to a reduction in revenue for some health
care-related businesses. And as states look to balance their budgets in
a time of economic stress, they will reduce funding to hospitals and
other health care facilities.
So I would call health care a toss-up, at least for now. Depending on
which part of the health care system you focus on, you may or may not
see increased opportunities.
Local banking: While it may seem counterintuitive, opportunities still
exist in the banking category. Solution providers with a strong focus
on local small businesses might find decent opportunities with local
banks and credit unions. Scared off by large banking institutions, a
lot of people are likely to switch their banking needs to smaller local
counterparts.
As that happens, the need for IT services and products in these
institutions will grow, and no one will be better positioned to deliver
them than solution providers. One company stepping up marketing efforts
to local banking institutions is MasterIT, a managed services provider
in Bartlett, Tenn., and its efforts have started to pay off, according
to CEO President Michael Drake.
Is smaller better?
Construction: This is another dubious prospect, on the surface. With
the housing market grounding to a halt, it's hard to imagine
construction producing any kind of opportunity any time soon.
But, once again, if the new administration follows through on plans to
create jobs for a massive public works project to improve the country's
infrastructure, opportunity for IT services and products will follow.
Admittedly, some hurdles must be conquered for this to actually happen,
and whatever opportunity comes out of such a plan will be slow in the
making. So while I still believe the opportunity is real, with caveats,
it isn't likely to happen until later in 2009 or beyond. Still, I
encourage solution providers to keep their eye on developments here.
Pedro Pereira is a contributing editor for Channel Insider.
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