Thaindian News

Banglore, April 14 (IANS) Recovering from the ripple effects of the global slowdown, the information and communication technology (ICT) market in the US is set to witness a strong momentum in 2011 and grow eight percent, the latest survey by global research firm Forrester said Thursday.

“There is a strong momentum in business purchase of technology goods and services in the US market due to economic rebound. The US IT market is set to grow eight percent to $608 billion over 2010,” Forrester’s principal analyst Andrew Bartels said, citing the survey report.

Forrester raised the growth forecast from 7.4 percent projected in the first quarter (January-March) of 2011 as the US market posted 8.9 percent growth in 2010 against an 8.4 percent projection.

“Vendors have to prepare for better days and ensure they pick the right growth verticals after studying the key forces driving the US tech market,” Bartels asserted.

The report also makes a note of the worries arising out of supply chain and trade disruptions from the quake and tsunami-hit Japan, sharp rise in oil and gas prices and the high unemployment rate impacting the US economic expansion.

“Though the overall tech market growth of eight percent is lower than the 8.9 percent growth in 2010, vendors in specific verticals see their revenue projections on the higher side,” the report pointed out.

The US market for software purchases is set to witness a robust growth of 8.6 percent, while IT consulting and systems integration services will be up by eight percent to $78 billion.

Computer equipment purchases, which lead the tech market recovery in 2010 with about 20 percent growth, will marginally decline to 7.3 percent, whereas communications equipment used for video conferencing and mobility at businesses and governments will see 8.3 percent growth this calendar year.

For the US tech market, which accounts for about 60 percent of software exports by the Indian IT industry, the report cautioned that outsourcing would grow seven percent to $104 billion, as business from telecom verticals is expected to be around 3.4 percent due to decline in wireline services, neutralising the growth in wireless services.

“Weakest growth will be in media, entertainment and leisure besides the government sector, where budget cutbacks at the federal, state, and local level will cause almost no growth,” the report noted.

Manufacturing industry, however, will see strong growth, followed by business services spanning professional, transportation and equipment.

“Enterprise purchases will do better than purchases by small and mid-size businesses,” Bartels added.