IBM - Competitors

IBM Competition

Now Viewing IBM's competition in: Information Technology

Recent Developments

IT Workforce Level Reaches Six-Year Peak - The national IT workforce is at its largest since the last recession, reaching a six-year peak. US employment in computer systems design and related services grew 5.1 percent in 2007 from a year earlier. The category includes programming, design, and facility management services.

Consumer IT Prices Continue Decline - Consumer costs for IT services continue the declining trend of the past decade. US consumer prices for IT hardware and services declined 15.2 percent in 2007 from the prior year, partly due to lower-cost off-shore competition. Domestic IT prices declined 42 percent in the most recent five-year period and 79 percent in a decade.

Computer Sales Boost Demand for IT - Computer sales continue to grow year-over-year, boosting demand for IT products and services. US sales of computer and peripheral equipment, an indicator of IT demand, increased 6 percent in third quarter 2007 from a year earlier. The growth rate was only average; about the same as the growth of the entire US manufacturing sector.

Competitive Landscape

Demand for IT services is driven by rapid technological advances, but spending for these expensive products depends on the health of the US economy. The profitability of companies in the industry depends on maintaining technical expertise and on good marketing. Small companies can compete effectively by specializing in market niches or by partnering with larger companies that want to offer a broad array of services. Only the large companies can provide outsourcing services to big corporate customers. Average annual revenue per employee is close to $200,000.

Full Industry Overview For Information Technology

Information Technology Industry Forecast

from Hoover's/D&B subsidiary First Research

The output of US computer and data processing is forecast to grow at an annual compounded rate of 5.3 percent between 2007 and 2012.

Computing Services Growth Stabilizes

First Research forecasts are based on INFORUM forecasts that are licensed from the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. (IERF) in College Park, MD. INFORUM's "interindustry-macro" approach to modeling the economy captures the links between industries and the aggregate economy.