US fuels economic recovery
Fuelled by unexpected rapid economic recovery in the US technology sector, the second half of 2002 is about to turn around faster than predicted, according to a recent report.
Forrester Research said it had nearly doubled its projection for IT spending growth this year, from 2.2% to 3.9% in the second half of 2002. Driven by pent-up demand, corporate IT spending will help push the tech sector ahead by 10.4% this year, up from 9.7%.
And by the last half of 2003, new technologies like web services and internet-connected consumer devices will reinvigorate the entire sector – growth rate is expected to reach 12.5% in 2004, up from 11.8%.
New standards like XML and SOAP will lower the costs of system connectivity and ever-cheaper integrated circuits will drive internet connections into everyday devices by 2005.
The study also found consumers increased online purchases by 12% in 2001, while the average company bought 9.5% of materials on the web in the fourth quarter of 2001, up from 7.1% in the third quarter.