CMP Media's VARBusiness Magazine Research Finds Optimism About Midmarket Technology SpendingMidmarket Spending Percentage Increase Projected to Exceed EnterprisePRNewswire Optimism exists about information technology (IT) spending among mid-market company executives, according to research findings reported in the Aug. 18 issue of CMP Media's VARBusiness, the biweekly magazine that provides strategic insight to technology integrators. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010808/UNEWYLOGO ) The "State of Midmarket Spending," one of the first national studies that examine the unique buying characteristics of the increasingly important segment, finds that 39 percent of midmarket executives queried expect technology spending to increase during 2003. Enterprise executives put that number at 25 percent. In fact, over three-quarters of the midsize executives report that they will spend more or the same as 2002. The comprehensive VARBusiness package notes that midsize companies -- organizations ranging in size from 100 to 999 employees -- will collectively spend about $63.2 billion on IT goods and services in 2003, according to AMI-Partners, a research company based in New York. "With numbers like these, the middle market is emerging as one of the hottest IT growth areas," says VARBusiness Editorial Director Robert C. DeMarzo. "Individual mid-market customers may have smaller individual budgets, but their aggregate IT spending rivals that of their enterprise counterparts." According to "State of Midmarket Spending," key business priorities driving midmarket IT initiatives in 2003 are improving customer service, reducing operational costs, building and maintaining security and privacy systems and improving worker productivity. More than one in four of the survey participants that have accelerated IT projects this year report doing so as a direct result of the projects' greater ROI (26 percent). In addition, an equally large percentage states they have accelerated IT projects due to the projects' faster anticipated ROI (22 percent). The study finds that middle-market companies are poised to refresh their systems this year. They expect to upgrade nearly one-third of their personal computers in the next 12 months and a quarter of their portables. Windows XP Professional and Windows 2000 Professional are the leading PC operating systems in which the midmarket is investing, at 66 percent and 63 percent, respectively. Linux follows at 20 percent. Among server operating systems, Windows (NT/2000) is the clear leader at 71 percent. Windows 2003 trails at 23 percent and Linux at 19 percent. The top five software categories vying for mid-market IT budget allocations in 2003 are anti-virus, firewall and intrusion detection, server/network operating systems, databases and disaster recovery. Methodology VARBusiness partnered with third-party research vendor ARC Research of Cranford, New Jersey to conduct the first "State of Mid-Market Spending" study. Field work was conducted by telephone to a random sample IT manager, C-level executive and line of business managers of mid-size businesses in late June and early July. About VARBusiness Magazine For the past 16 years, VARBusiness' strategic resources have been the gateway to the Solution Provider community. VARBusiness provides strategic insight for technology integrators through industry-defining research, in-depth editorial, channel events and innovative Web services, enabling these IT professionals to make educated decisions for their businesses, partnerships and customers. VARBusiness has been the recipient of numerous industry awards for both editorial content and design. Additional information about VARBusiness products, events and services, is available at its Web site, www.varbusiness.com. About CMP Media CMP Media LLC (www.cmp.com) is a leading integrated media company providing essential information and marketing services to the entire technology spectrum -- the builders, sellers and users of technology worldwide. Capitalizing on its editorial strength, CMP is uniquely positioned to offer marketers comprehensive, integrated media solutions tailored to meet their individual needs. Its diverse products and services include newspapers, magazines, Internet products, research, direct marketing services, education and training, trade shows and conferences, and custom publishing. Contact: Gordon Plutsky
VARBusiness Magazine
(516) 562-7766
Jason Chupick
Plesser Associates
(212) 420-8383 x208
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SOURCE: CMP Media LLC CONTACT: Gordon Plutsky of VARBusiness Magazine, +1-516-562-7766; or |