National Monitor
VERNON HILLS, Ill. – Oct. 27, 2009 – IT decision makers are planning increased investments in hardware to gain maximum efficiency and productivity, returning to levels not seen since before the October 2008 collapse of the financial markets. However, they are not yet planning to increase the number of new hires in the coming months.
According to the latest CDW IT Monitor, 67 percent of IT decision makers across corporate and government sectors plan to make make significant IT hardware purchases in the next six months, on par with August 2008 levels. The overall number of corporate IT decision makers who expect IT staffing to stay at current levels for the next six months has reached a new high of 81 percent, driving down both the number of anticipated job cuts and new staff hires.
Eighty-one percent of large businesses and 84 percent of federal government IT decision makers anticipate making significant hardware purchases in the next six months. Additionally, nearly nine out of 10 federal IT decision makers say their investment in IT helps organizational efficiency.
“The confidence we began to see emerging in April with decreases in planned job cuts has now evolved into planned capital investments in IT infrastructure to increase efficiency and productivity,” said Mark Gambill, the company’s executive responsible for market insights. “Hardware refresh cycles have been pushed to limits we’ve rarely seen, and anticipated investment in this area is encouraging as companies prepare for a larger economic recovery. The down side is that the percentage of organizations planning investments in IT staffing has held steady and in some cases has declined.”
Despite steady budgets and staffing in the corporate sector, federal government organizations are significantly more optimistic about their organization’s future performance than before the economic crisis. More than four out of five federal government IT decision makers expect to replace or install new hardware, and 86 percent anticipate new software purchases.
Fifty-six percent of federal IT decision makers anticipate better efficiency and achievement of organizational goals in the next six months compared to 43 percent in August 2008. In addition, the majority (51 percent) of federal government IT decision makers anticipate increased budgets in the next six months, compared to 20 and 19 percent of state and local government organizations, respectively.
Additional findings from the October CDW IT Monitor:
| Expect to Purchase New Hardware /Software in the Next Six Months | Hardware* | Software* |
| Large Businesses (1,000+ employees) |
81% ( no change) |
85% ( 1%) |
| Medium-Size Businesses (100-999 employees) |
75% ( 3%) |
76% ( 2%) |
| Small Businesses (1-99 employees) |
41% ( 4%) |
53% ( 4%) |
*Compared to August 2009 data
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. The overall IT Monitor score is composed of two sub-indices – the IT Growth Monitor, which measures future IT expectations, and the IT Value Monitor, which measures the value of IT in achieving organizational objectives. For more information about the mindset of IT decision makers please visit www.cdwitmonitor.com.
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 are based on a survey of 1,043 IT decision makers conducted between Sept. 15 and Sept. 23, 2009.
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 2009.
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. 34 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, 2009 employed approximately 6,250 coworkers. In 2008, the company generated sales of $8.1 billion. For more information, visit CDW.com.
