Vertical Industry Spending on IT in 2009 Will Vary by Industry – Retail Decreases IT Spend, While Federal Government Presents Opportunity and Business Social Networking Has Promise, According to Compass Intelligence

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/ — According to new research from Compass Intelligence (http://www.compassintelligence.com), US IT Decision-makers in businesses across vertical markets/industries provide varying opportunities for IT vendors in 2009. When surveyed in late November of 2008, Compass Intelligence asked what would happen to businesses’ IT budgets between 2008 and 2009. Most decision-makers (45%) said they would “stay the same.” Just under a third of respondents indicated that it would “increase,” which is slightly higher than the percent of businesses that increased spending between 2007 and 2008, while the remaining (27%) expect it to decrease. Looking across verticals, retail had the highest response rate indicating a planned budget decrease for IT spending in 2009. This is the same sector that had the highest response rates for negative perceptions regarding the economy, indicating the correlation between perceived impact and budget expectations. Similarly, Government, one of the industries that indicated the least economic impact, had the highest expectations for budget increase at nearly 35%. Compass Intelligence expects this to be the case primarily within the Federal Government sector but not within the State & Local sector.

“Aside from the Federal Government, other opportunities lie within Education as Obama further supports IT spending in this space through his recent stimulus package. In addition, the Professional Services and General Services sector will experience growth as more unemployed workers seek to either start new businesses or join the Services industry. This will give growth to IT investment over the next few years, especially in computer systems, wireless/mobility solutions, and web infrastructure,” says Stephanie Atkinson, Managing Partner of Compass Intelligence.

Results from 10,000+ US Business End-Users Surveyed:

• 37 percent are worried about their job security
• 64 percent are less likely to buy new gadgets, computers, or electronics over the next year
• 62 percent say this credit and economic crisis has negatively affected their business
• 60 percent of working adults in the US currently use social networks for either personal or business purposes today
• The most popular social networks among working adults are Facebook (35%), LinkedIn (29%) and MySpace (24%)

Results from 2,200 Business Decision-Makers Surveyed:

When looking at 2007/2008 vs. 2008/2009 IT budgets, business decision-makers

• Retail and Construction/Field Service industries may feel the greatest IT budget decreases, with both having about 33 percent respondents saying their IT budgets will decrease
• In terms of those increasing IT budgets, Government (Primarily Federal) and Education had the highest percentages, with 36 and 35 percent respectively saying they expected IT budget increases

For more results on this research, click here: http://is.gd/hrRH

For a FREE download on these results, click here: http://is.gd/hDqa

For a FREE download on business social networking, click here: http://is.gd/hDqs

About Compass Intelligence

Compass Intelligence, a global consulting and market analytics firm, specializes in segment and vertical market intelligence for the high-tech, IT and telecom industries. Compass Intelligence offers clients a completely new research experience with a unique and intuitive online intelligence tool called, INSTANT Access. The company provides market intelligence, forecasts, competitive analysis, market data, insights, and announcement analysis for multiple markets. Discover the Compass Intelligence difference and visit www.compassintelligence.com or follow us on twitter handle: CompassIntel.

    Company Contacts
    Stephanie Atkinson
    Managing Partner
    830.796.4498
    satkinson@compassintelligence.com

    Holley Booze
    Press Manager
    hbooze@compassintelligence.com

SOURCE Compass Intelligence