Sentiment remains stable across the broader IT marketplace, according to the latest CDW IT Monitor, with gains in some areas balanced by uncertainty among the small business and local government sectors. The overall CDW IT Monitor score across both corporate and government sectors remained flat at 69 for the third consecutive reading.
Signs of anticipated growth in investment that first appeared in the April CDW IT Monitor are now becoming much more visible. Eighty-three percent of medium-size businesses expect to purchase new software in the next six months and 28 percent of large businesses expect to hire additional staff in the next six months, both up five percentage points since April. Additionally, 52 percent of federal IT decision makers anticipate budget increases in the next six months, an increase of 17 percent since April and the largest leap in the government sector to date.
However, this rising sentiment is not shared by all sectors. After signs of increasing confidence earlier in the year, fewer small businesses and local government organizations anticipate budgets to improve. Only 21 percent of small business IT decision makers and 17 percent of local government IT decision makers expect IT budgets to increase in the next six months, down eight and six percentage points, respectively, since April.
"This downturn has not followed the path of previous ones, making it more difficult to predict the shape of the recovery,” said Mark Gambill, the company’s executive responsible for market insights. “But IT confidence has held steady for nearly four months, and we’re now beginning to see signs of a patchy turnaround with medium and large businesses anticipating future growth."
"The unsteady nature of this turnaround is demonstrated by the slight decline in small business confidence. Larger companies have been aggressively managing costs as well through this period, but there comes a point when investments have to be made."
