FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – Separate information-technology spending outlooks, issued early this month by CIO Magazine and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., offered differing projections for 2003.
According to Framingham, Mass.-based CIO Magazine, executives plan to increase spending on computer hardware and software by 4.6 percent this year, with security programs a top priority. But an outlook offered Jan. 2 by Goldman Sachs said IT managers plan to cut computer and software budgets this year amid renewed concerns about the economy.
Goldman Sachs’ survey of 100 IT managers found that computer-related spending in the U.S. will decline by 1 percent in 2003. That outlook dropped from the company’s last survey in October, when members of the same group said they planned to spend 2 to 3 percent more in 2003.
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Meanwhile, 53 percent of the 335 executives surveyed in the CIO Magazine poll said they plan to spend more on programs to block computer viruses and other security software. Security software has been one of the few bright spots in the computer industry, which is trying to pull out of a two-year slump, as companies seek to protect data from viruses and guard against hackers.
About 46 percent of executives said they plan to increase spending on computer hardware next year, up from 39 percent in the November poll. About 34 percent said they will leave spending unchanged and 20 percent said they will reduce spending. The poll on computer spending plans is conducted monthly by CIO Magazine, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Prudential Securities Inc.
Tech, telecom IPOs to
return?
NEW YORK – Technology and telecommunications companies may begin to make initial public offerings again after tabling plans during the past three years’ economic slump, the Wall Street Journal recently reported.
Seagate Technology went public last month, issuing the largest technology IPO in almost two years. Five other technology and telecommunications companies are expected to issue IPOs as soon as this month, the newspaper reported.
The Nasdaq Composite Index has risen 20 percent since late September, injecting optimism that IPOs will return, the Journal said. A new Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. study said that when the Nasdaq rises, more IPOs will be issued in the following quarter.
An estimated $4.1 billion is expected to be raised by IPOs this year in all industries, the Journal story said. But if IPOs regain momentum, it is unlikely that it will return to 1999 levels, when 332 IPOs raised $50 billion for companies in the technology and telecommunications industries, the newspaper said. (Bloomberg News)
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