The latest CompTIA “IT Industry Business Confidence Index” assessed input and views from more than 400 information technology providers over the first three months of 2012. Survey results registered 43 percent of IT firms with intentions to increase investments in new products and business lines over the next six months. In a separate survey question, 42 percent of IT firms plan to raise their investment in technological upgrades and innovation, according to CompTIA. Noted areas of expanded spending for the rest of 2012 included building out cloud data centers and upgrading professional service automation solutions.
“Businesses of all sizes continue to cite technology as increasingly important to their success,” said Tim Herbert, CompTIA VP of research, in a statement on the survey. “Consequently, IT firms that can deliver on the promise of technology-driven solutions are finding plenty of opportunities.”
CompTIA’s survey of IT market confidence – based on opinions on the U.S. economy, IT industry and internal enterprise outlooks – increased 4.6 percent in the second quarter of 2012. At 56.7 percent (out of 100 percent), the current industry confidence level is at its highest point in more than a year, and is anticipated to increase another 6.6 percent by year’s end, according to CompTIA’s survey. CompTIA pointed to IT’s role in economic growth as elemental to the adjusted outlook, as well as more general economic factors such as consumers curtailing debt and increased enterprise cash. However, Herbert warned that there have been similar patterns of confidence since the recent recession where “a rebound in confidence doesn’t quite take hold.”
To access the survey findings, click here.
Justin Kern is senior editor at Information Management and can be reached at justin.kern@sourcemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @IMJustinKern.
