US tech execs more optimistic about spending: Study
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New York, August 31: US technology executives are increasingly optimistic about the business climate, although plans for increased technology spending remain modest, according to a study released on Monday.
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InfoWorld - Mixed economic news and forecasts of weak IT spending for at least the beginning of next year caused IT investor confidence to waver this week, though upbeat analyst presentations from Cisco and AT&T and online e-commerce figures brought some cheer to the holiday season.
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The study also recommends employers look for optimism as a key personality trait when recruiting for IT roles that demand intensive and constant technical skill updating.
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Most senior executives at large U.S.  companies plan to increase hiring and investments over the next  12 months amid growing optimism about the economy, according to  a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers released on Thursday.
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U.S. stocks climbed on Thursday, led by technology shares, which gained on a bet that business spending will support the sector's profits even as the housing slump hampers growth in other parts of the economy.
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CIOs surveyed by Forrester Research are more confident than they were earlier in the year, and expect IT spending to grow by 7% next year.
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(InfoWorld) - With the first six months of the year gone, IT companies are riding high in the markets, and mergers and acquisitions have helped stoke investor interest in technology. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 7.8 percent in the first half. The day before the U.S. Independence Day holiday on July 4, the Nasdaq rose 12.65 points to close at 2644.95, a six-and-a-half year high. Most analyst firms are still predicting modest overall global IT spending growth of about 6.5 percent above last year. But strong corporate earnings, better-than-expected growth in certain sectors, and M&A activity are contributing to a sense of exuberance, especially in certain sectors. Both Gartner and IDC have recently raised predictions, for example, for PC shipment growth this year. Now comes news that M&A deals continue to experience a torrid pace. For the first six months of the year, 1,930 deals worth about $347 billion were reported, according to The 451 Group. While the number of deals declined slightly from last year, the dollar value skyrocketed about 50 percent from last year, according to a 451 Group report. About half the deals involved acquisitions by public companies, and half involved private equity companies. Also, the pace of M&A is accelerating, according to the report. After $95 billion in M&A deals in the first quarter, second-quarter M&A spending jumped to $252 billion. IT is getting a lion's share of M&A dollars. For example, in the first six months of the year, IT services deals amounted to about $94.7 billion, while software deals excluding storage and security companies amounted to $27.6 billion, according to 451 Group. These days, M&A activity is being seen as a healthy sign. That was not always the case. "PE (private equity) used to buy broken companies," noted 451 Group financial analyst Brenon Daly. But now there are various reasons why IT services and software companies are targets, he noted. "It's not a great time to be a public company," Daly said. For example, there is a lot of scrutiny on companies being brought to bear by Sarbanes-Oxley rules, he noted. Thus, there are a lot of willing buyout targets, especially among smaller companies, he said. IT services companies are popular targets because once the difficult sales cycle is accomplished, long-term contracts lock in revenue for a foreseeable period, Daly said. Software companies in mature markets may see new license revenue slowing down but have a solid business in maintenance revenue. Though 451 does not track telecommunications deals specifically (telecom M&A is included in its total tally, however), recent telecom deals have also excited the market. For example, AT&T's announcement FridayÂ it would buy carrier Dobson CommunicationsÂ for about $2.8 billion helped lift the Nasdaq to its high level earlier this week. M&A deals help boost IT investor interest in several ways, noted Daly. First of all, as companies are bought and taken off the market as targets, there are fewer companies to invest in, even as a liberal lending regime continues to stoke opportunity and interest. Also, M&A sparks a continual guessing game of Who's Next? Excited investors essentially place bets on companies they think will be the next to be snapped up. It's not all smoke and mirrors, though. Several quarters of healthy corporate earnings have given a solid underpinning to investor interest in tech. The earnings-report season is getting underway in the next few weeks, and industry watchers will get a sense of how the next six months will play out.
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Most senior executives at large U.S. companies plan to increase hiring and investments over the next 12 months amid growing optimism about the economy, according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers released on Thursday.
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SAN FRANCISCO - It&#39;s been a tough recession for tech spending and a tough summer for tech stocks. But a Texas software outfit might give investors a reason to get back in the market.
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CIO Magazine says poll shows IT budgets are expected to grow over the next year.
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Chief executives in the United States  are not as pessimistic as the Business Council thought last  week when it issued its economic survey, the group said on  Tuesday, citing a "tabulation error."
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Chief executives in the U.S. are not  as pessimistic as the Business Council thought last week when  it issued its economic survey, the group said on Tuesday,  citing a "tabulation error."
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Services and businesses are boosting tech spending with network equipment purchases, researchers say.
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Federal spending on contractors is expected to grow more quickly than it has historically in 2005, with contractors that specialize in technology services growing the most according to experts.  -The Washington Post
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After years of hearing that investing in IT was a smart strategic plan, business executives seem to have gotten the message, according to a new Gartner CIO survey released today -- but only when the dollars are going to technology efforts that have visible benefits for the bottom line, primarily externally facing initiatives involving customers or partners.
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The latest Tech Poll from CIO Magazine indicates that IT spending next year will rise -- but not as fast as CIOs thought earlier this year. A separate study from Equs Group Inc. paints a rosier IT spending picture.
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SMBs in North America expect to increase their IT spending by an average of only 2 percent this year after boosting spending 8 percent in 2006, according to a Forrester Research survey.