National Monitor
VERNON HILLS, Ill. — October 27, 2008 – Confidence among IT decision makers in government declined across all three sectors – local, state and federal – in September, according to the latest CDW IT Monitor, a bimonthly indicator of the direction and momentum of the IT marketplace. This is the first time that the IT Monitor has recorded declines in all three sectors of government since its inaugural polling in December 2007.
“This decline is likely a result of slowing tax revenues and tightening budgets, which is fueled by both the current economic climate and recent market events,” said CDW Vice President Mark Gambill, the company’s executive responsible for market insights.
“We’ve seen uncertain economic conditions affecting the corporate sector over the course of 2008. There also has been a gradually rising impact in the government sector from local and state to the federal level that is now being felt. However, the value organizations place on IT remains strong, and once the economic environment becomes more stable, we expect confidence to rise accordingly.”
The CDW IT Monitor is based on an online survey of at least 1,000 IT decision makers from businesses of all sizes and all sectors of government. It is composed of two sub-indices, the IT Value Monitor, which measures the value of IT in achieving organizational objectives and satisfying decision makers' expectations, and the IT Growth Monitor, which measures future IT expectations within organizations. Data breakdowns for all corporate and government segments are available at www.cdwitmonitor.com.
The IT Monitor score for the government sector decreased four points from the previous reading, in August, to stand at 70, the lowest overall government reading since the IT Monitor’s inception last year. This decrease in the government sector was fueled by declining readings for both the IT Growth Monitor and IT Value Monitor. The IT Growth Monitor is currently down two points from August at 68, and the IT Value Monitor is down four points from August at 73.
Additionally, the overall CDW IT Monitor index, which includes IT decision makers across all sectors of government and corporate organizations, decreased one point from August to stand at 72.
Other key findings:
| Key Findings from IT Value & IT Growth Sub-Indices | Small Businesses (1-99 employees) |
Medium-Size Businesses (100-999 employees) |
Large Businesses (1,000+ employees) |
| Do you anticipate purchasing new hardware in the next six months?* | 36% | 80% | 86% |
| Do you anticipate purchasing new software in the next six months?* | 47% | 84% | 92% |
| Will IT staffing increase over the next six months?* | 4% | 23% | 39% |
| Will IT budgets increase over the next six months?* | 30% | 59% | 63% |
About the CDW IT Monitor The CDW IT Monitor was created by CDW Corporation, and research and analysis is conducted by independent polling firm Richard Day Research of Evanston, Ill. Decision makers are invited from two large national panels of IT decision makers built and maintained by E-Rewards and Survey Sampling International. Data reported in this release is based on a survey of 1,058 IT decision makers conducted between Sept. 15 and Sept. 22, 2008.
At the center of the CDW IT Monitor is an index number, which registered an initial benchmark reading of 69 in December 2007. Results are calculated on a scale of 0-100, with 100 indicating the highest level of confidence. Future readings of the CDW IT Monitor will continue to yield comparisons to previous scores, allowing for an interpretation of the direction of sentiment in the IT marketplace. The next CDW IT Monitor will be released in December 2008.
Data are weighted to ensure that CDW IT Monitor calculations closely represent the overall population of corporate and government employers in terms of size, based on the number of employees. Corporate data are weighted according to U.S. Economic Census data, and government data are weighted according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual survey of government employment. The margin of sampling error for a survey based on this many interviews is approximately +/-4 percentage points for the business sector, and +/-6 percentage points for government.
About CDW
CDW is a leading provider of technology solutions for business, government and education. Ranked No. 39 on Forbes’ list of America’s Largest Private Companies, CDW features dedicated account managers who help customers choose the right technology products and services to meet their needs. The company’s technology specialists offer expertise in designing customized solutions, while its advanced technology engineers can assist customers with the implementation and long-term management of those solutions. Areas of focus include notebooks, desktops, printers, servers and storage, unified communications, security, wireless, power and cooling, networking, software licensing and mobility solutions.
CDW was founded in 1984 and as of September 30, 2008 employed approximately 6,900 coworkers. In 2007, the company generated sales of $8.1 billion. For more information, visit CDW.com.
