CMP Media's VARBusiness Research Reveals That Large North American Corporations Optimistic About Increased Information-Technology Spending2003 Spending is Projected to Exceed 2002 LevelsPRNewswire Large North American corporations anticipate increasing information-technology (IT) expenditures during 2003 over 2002 levels, according to research from CMP Media's VARBusiness, the biweekly magazine that covers the business of technology integration. A survey, conducted among executives with IT purchasing authority at companies and institutions with 1,000 or more employees, finds 69 percent anticipate that spending on hardware, software and services will be flat to up during the year. Sixty-two percent expect IT spending to be greatest in the second half of the year. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010808/UNEWYLOGO ) While economic conditions have deferred some IT projects within the enterprise, two in five companies have accelerated one or more IT projects for 2003 due to the projects' faster return on investment (ROI). Additionally, almost half (46 percent) have accelerated IT projects due to the projects' more clearly defined or greater anticipated ROI. "These IT executives clearly are telling us that they are able to purchase technology and move projects ahead if the expenditures will result in greater ROI," says VARBusiness Editorial Director Robert C. DeMarzo. "If technology vendors and integrators can demonstrate the benefits of their products and services in terms of ROI, they will be able to jump-start sales and improve the success of the entire category," he adds. The April 28 issue of VARBusiness also reveals the headway being made by the Linux operating system. Thirty-five percent of enterprises are investing in Linux for servers, behind Windows NT 2000 (85 percent) and UNIX (52 percent). It is being selected as a PC operating system by 31 percent, following Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP Professional, UNIX and Windows NT Workstations. "Linux is coming on strong as an alternative to traditional UNIX servers and services, because it's solid, stable, supported and matured," explains VARBusiness Senior Technology Editor David Strom. The three most important areas of anticipated technology purchases in 2003 were identified as Web, Internet and intranet (40 percent), servers (35 percent) and software (33 percent). Network technologies reported as being of greatest importance to the enterprise were found to be Gigabit Ethernet (69 percent), frame relay (39 percent) and wireless LAN (34 percent). VARBusiness research also found the leading software categories vying for enterprise budget allocations in 2003 are security (57 percent), server/network operating systems (41 percent) and disaster recovery (38 percent). The VARBusiness research also found that the lines of business with the greatest needs for IT solutions were reported as being finance and accounting, customer service, engineering, manufacturing/inventory/supply-chain management and purchasing/logistics. Among enterprise executives responding, 32 percent consider Microsoft to be their first or second most important IT vendor. The software giant was followed by IBM (28 percent), Dell (19 percent), HP (18 percent), Cisco (14 percent), Oracle and Sun (at 10 percent respectively). Methodology VARBusiness' Enterprise Spending survey was fielded by ARC Research, a business intelligence and marketing research firm based in Cranford, N.J. For the study, an enterprise is defined as large, end-user business organizations having more than 1,000 employees. Through telephone polling, ARC Research obtained completed surveys from 350 qualified contacts in IT executive, IT management or line-of-business management. This yields a +/- 5 percent margin of error at a 95 percent confidence level. 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 Director of Marketing VARBusiness Magazine Tel.: (516) 562-7766 gplutsky@cmp.com or Jason Chupick Plesser Associates 212-420-8383, 208 jchupick@plesser.comPhoto: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010808/UNEWYLOGO SOURCE: CMP Media LLC CONTACT: Gordon Plutsky, Director of Marketing of VARBusiness Magazine, Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/181993.html |