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Technology companies face a bumpy ride in 2009. Global business and government spending on computer, software and communications products and consulting services is expected to decline 3 percent this year, Forrester Research said in a report due out Tuesday. This would mark the first decline since 2002, when information-technology spending dropped 6 percent after falling the same amount in 2001.
While television remains the most popular consumer device for viewing video content, it’s fast falling before the march of alternatives, according to a report released Thursday by Deloitte. About half of U.S. consumers want the freedom to view their content on any platform they choose — be it television, media center software, smartphone, or PC.
Despite the daily onslaught of grim economic news, the need for skilled information technology staff remains stable, according to the Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report, released earlier this month. Twelve percent of chief information officers polled in the survey said they planned to expand their IT departments in the first quarter of 2009.
The technology industry was rocked by more dismal news Tuesday with a Gartner report predicting sales of semiconductors will drop by 16.3 percent to $219.2 billion in 2009 due to the recession and lower consumer spending. The decline in chip sales in 2009 will mark the first time the sector has seen back-to-back years of declines.
I don’t know about you, but I will be happy to write “The End” on the chapter we call 2008. Normally, at the end of a year I look back at some of my predictions from a year earlier and look for some indication that I was on track at least some of the time. This year is different. Who cares, really — the big story in the economy was on no one’s radar that I know of.
Nearly five years ago, I wrote a white paper that resonated around the industry like a three-point shot clanging off the front of the rim as time expired. A “brick,” in the vernacular of basketball; nonetheless, I view it as some of my finest work. The paper, “The New Garage,” takes as its premise that cloud computing and platforms would be the next big thing in our business.
Chipmaker Texas Instruments and smaller rival National Semiconductor have slashed current-quarter revenue forecasts to far below Wall Street expectations, as demand for cell phone and analog chips has come to a virtual standstill. Chipmakers Broadcom and
Altera also warned on Monday of weaker-than-expected demand.
With the U.S. in the throes of what could be the worst recession in decades, consumers have made dramatic cutbacks in discretionary spending. That includes donations to charitable causes and nonprofit organizations, many of which supply critical aid to vulnerable populations both in the U.S. and abroad.
I have in my hot little hand a two-page handout that I got at the recently concluded Dreamforce 2008 event in San Francisco. With all the excitement about the election and the economy, as well as this day job I have, I had not really taken the time to peruse it. A quick glance a couple of weeks ago told me that the company had added a new color — blue — to its logo, but closer inspection reveals that it isn’t just the color.
HP shares soared 14 percent Tuesday, leading a tech sector rally, after the No. 1 PC maker announced better-than-expected earnings six days early. However, technology analysts warned that the industry still might be slipping into its worst downturn since the dot-com bust of 2001. “Things are tough out there,” says equity analyst Brent Bracelin at Pacific Crest Securities.
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