"Now the developing world is an incredible engine, and it's providing a tremendous amount of growth,'' Hanna says, adding that global demand is benefiting IBM and HP, which is expected to announce its latest financial results in May.
So far, it appears that CIOs aren't cutting staff dramatically. Despite some layoffs, including AT&T's recently announced plans to eliminate 4,600 white-collar jobs, overall IT employment is up. Allen says the Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that the US IT labor force is at its highest levels ever.
"The IT labor force peaked in 2001, and it has now come out the other side,'' Allen says. "Companies can turn the capital spending spigot on and off, but committing to the labor force is more of a commitment.''
Allen says the mix of the US IT labor force is also positive.
"We have fewer programmers and more higher-level analysts and software engineers,'' Allen adds. "We are successfully moving up the chain and keeping the higher value-add activities, and that bodes well for American tech companies.''
Another difference is that IT vendors aren't bailing out on trade shows. Interop, which will be held in Las Vegas this week, says the number of exhibitors is up 25 per cent, including first-time participant Amazon.com.
"In 2001/2002, it was very evident that companies were dropping out and people weren't showing up. So far, we are not seeing that,'' says Lenny Heyman, general manager of Interop.
Keeping an eye on innovation
One indicator to keep an eye on is the impact of the US downturn on innovation in the IT industry.
Investments in Internet start-ups hit US$1.3 billion in the first quarter of 2008, the same level of investment as a year ago, according to the MoneyTree survey compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the US National Venture Capital Association using data from Thomson Financial. Venture firms closed 195 Internet-related deals in the first quarter of this year, compared with 167 deals in the first quarter of 2007.
The first-quarter-2008 numbers are down slightly from the fourth quarter of 2007, when venture firms invested US$1.4 billion in 217 Internet-related companies.
Overall, venture capital investments declined 8.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2008 compared with the fourth quarter of 2007. Venture firms invested US$7.1 billion in 922 deals in the first three months of this year, compared with US$7.8 billion invested in 1,045 deals during the last three months of 2007. Leading areas of investment were biotechnology and software.
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Zones provide focussed content from CIO and leading technology partners.- White PaperJoin industry expert Bob Spurzem and Chuck Arconi of Fox Hollow to discover how to reduce Exchange total storage and keep it at a manageable level. Learn how Exchange storage growth can be contained without sacrificing security and accessibility.
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- How SOA is helping leading companies to become more agile
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CIO Live Podcast #79: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires Part II 05 October, 2007 06:00:00
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CIO Live Podcast #75: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part I 07 September, 2007 07:00:05
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TJX Maxx hacker banged up for 30 years 09 January, 2009 11:26:00
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Data breaches rose sharply in 2008, says study 08 January, 2009 08:27:00
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Rogue SSL certificate exploit puts VeriSign on the spot 07 January, 2009 11:04:00
Wishes "white hat" researchers had notified VeriSign before public demo.Following the success of researchers last week in creating a false SSL certificate based on VeriSign's RapidSSL brand, the company is scrambling to explain how it happened, how it's preventing it from reoccurring, and whether its other SSL certificate-generation services are at risk. - +
With Gaza conflict, cyberattacks come too 05 January, 2009 08:03:00
Pro-Palestinian hackers have defaced thousands of sites following attacks in Gaza.The conflict raging in Gaza between Israel and Palestine has spilled over to the Internet. - +
5 ways to secure your Blackberry 18 December, 2008 12:58:00
What do Tom Cruise and the McCain campaign have in common? They have both been bitten by the loss of a Blackberry. Mobile expert Dan Hoffman gives advice on how to keep your cherished mobile device safe, even if it's out of your handsWhat do Tom Cruise and the McCain campaign have in common? They have both been bitten by the loss of a Blackberry. Mobile expert Dan Hoffman gives advice on how to keep your cherished mobile device safe, even if it's out of your hands.
Research software developer appoints Susan Dart to new Business Development Director role 08 January, 2009 09:08:00
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Fortinet Cures Mobile Phone “Curse of Silence/CurseSMS” Attack 07 January, 2009 16:30:00
SEAGATE SHIPS DESKTOP HARD DRIVE WITH WORLD’S HIGHEST AREAL DENSITY – 500GB PER DISK 06 January, 2009 15:34:00
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Data grids and service-oriented architecture
When choosing an SOA strategy, corporations must ensure data availability, reliability, performance and scalability. A data grid infrastructure, built with clustered caching provides a framework for improved data access that can create a competitive edge and sustain customer loyalty. Read on to discover how this can be created within your organisation.
