Outlook 2008: U.S. IT Spending by Region and Vertical

This IDC study reviews U.S. IT spending trends by region and vertical. To provide an understanding of each region's dominant IT spenders, the Situation Overview uses economic and IT market data to establish the largest industry and state IT investors for 2007. The Future Outlook assesses forecasts and critical business initiatives and identifies pockets of opportunity for 2008. In our final section, we give guidance for approaching IT investors in 2008.

According to Monika Kumar, program manager of IDC's U.S. Vertical Markets research, "Going to market in 2008 will be challenging, as economic indicators point to a lackluster economy and increasingly tighter IT budgets. Instead of IT projects being abandoned altogether, the nature of projects will change and pockets of opportunity will present themselves in certain industries and geographic regions. For example, although industries such as financial services and retail will curtail overall IT spending and only undertake key strategic projects, healthcare providers in states such as California, Texas, and Florida will face a surge in demand as the need to support their aging population will necessitate an increase in IT investment to boost productivity and cut costs."