IDC Forecasts U.S. IT Spending Growth Will Outpace Economic Growth by More Than 2.6% in 2011

The FINANCIAL — FRAMINGHAM, Mass., June 27, 2011 – International Data Corporation (IDC) today announced the availability of new data from its annual IT spending survey that forecasts total U.S. enterprise and public sector IT spending to grow at 5.6% through the end of 2011.

In comparison, U.S. GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is forecast to grow 3.0% in 2011. Survey respondents indicated the top IT initiatives for 2011 at large enterprises are Security (selected by 31% of companies) and Business Analytics (selected by 19% of companies). In addition, 17% of companies expect to make investments in Smart Technologies.

The vertical markets with the highest expected growth rates are healthcare, professional services, and communications & media.

IDC analysts will provide further insight into this unique, industry-leading research in a one-hour, complimentary Web conference, scheduled for June 29, 2011 at 1:00 p.m., U.S. Eastern time: The Web conference, 2011 U.S. IT Spending Outlook by Vertical: Latest Trends and Key Priorities, will focus on revealing select IT budget allocations and key technology spending priorities for calendar years 2011 and 2012.

IDC's Worldwide Vertical Markets research group conducts an annual, comprehensive survey of IT decision-makers and executives with direct IT and communications budget responsibility. This year's survey included more than 5,700 U.S. respondents who shared near-term spending plans on IT hardware, software, business analytics, IT services, business process outsourcing, and telecommunications services. The Web conference will focus on a subset of the survey data, including IT budget benchmarking metrics, smart technologies, business analytics, and IT services.

IDC's Vertical research affords customized inquiries of the research data for more than 90 IT products and services markets, within 18 industries and 100 sub-industries, five company size bands based on gross revenue, nine company size bands based on number of employees, and by 50 U.S. states. The research also includes 2010 through 2015 IT spending forecasts. Vendors use the information to support strategic planning, including resource allocation and sales planning, and to identify vertical-market development opportunities. End-user companies use the information for benchmarking purposes.