IT Pros Voice Optimism Amid Industry Transitions
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Robust Expansion
The global IT market will grow by 5% this year, up notably from a prior forecast of 3.4%. -
Segment Breakdown
Telecom services account for 44% of the global IT market, followed by IT hardware (27%), services (18%) and software (11%). -
Optimistic Outlook, Part I
The current IT Industry Business Confidence index is 64.5, up 2.4% from the last quarter of 2014. -
Optimistic Outlook, Part II
39% of IT industry execs and professionals said margins/profitability are getting better, up from 33% in 2012. -
Bigger Budget
50% anticipate that their companies will increase their investments in new products or business lines, and 47% expect to increase spending on tech. -
Formidable Barriers
40% cited "price-sensitive" customers who are hesitant to spend as a major growth inhibitor, while 30% said it’s the presence of government regulation, gridlock and/or regulatory uncertainty. -
Job Growth
As of late last year, the industry posted more than 581,000 job openings for core IT positions—including computer and information systems managers, programmers, software/app developers and database administrators—up from about 534,400 openings the year before. -
Tall Order
68% of IT industry execs and professionals described the hiring environment for tech positions as "challenging" or "very challenging," compared with just 14% who don’t feel the environment is challenging. -
Short-Handed
43% of tech industry execs and professionals said their companies are understaffed. -
Temporary Solution
43% said they deal with being understaffed by requiring employees to put in more time on the job, and 31% are using contract/temp workers.
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Why Metrics Matter to the Channel Tech professionals are as confident in their businesses’ financial health and the general state of the economy as they’ve been in two years, according to a new report from CompTIA. With the $3.7 trillion global IT market poised to make significant gains this year, survey respondents remain highly encouraged about growth prospects, and are planning to increase investment in new products and technologies as a result, according to the study, which was based on a poll of executives and other professionals from nearly 650 IT companies. Key tech trends will "enter a new phase of maturity in 2015," which stands to be a pivotal year for the IT world, including the channel, the report said. "Business transformation will remain the buzzword of the moment as channel firms of all stripes continue to assess the direction of their companies in the age of cloud computing, mobility, managed services, big data, social media and other market and technology forces. Navigating new routes to market and evolving customer buying habits will challenge channel firms to focus just as much on their own branding and marketing as they will on elevating their tech skills." Here are key takeaways from the report.