US And Global IT Market Outlook: Q2 2010

Financial markets in Q2 2010 have been shaken by fears that the Greek debt crisis will metastasize across the European Union (EU) and beyond. Nevertheless, Q1 demand data was strong; we continue to expect that the tech recovery will gain strength in the US and around the world, though European IT market growth will be lower than our earlier predictions. We forecast that the US IT market will grow by 9.9% in 2010, and the global IT market by 7.8%. Computer equipment and software will be the strongest categories, with PCs, peripherals, and storage equipment leading the computer category, and operating system software and applications setting the pace for software. Communications equipment purchases are looking up, especially for enterprise and small and medium-size business (SMB) buying. IT services growth will lag, with systems integration projects waiting for licensed software purchases to rise. The US; Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; and Asia Pacific will be standout regions in local currency terms, while European sovereign debt concerns will keep Western and Central Europe expansion to the slowest dollar-denominated growth rate.