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IDC: IT Spending To Grow Modestly in 2006

Spending on IT in the United States is set to grow by a modest 5 percent this year, according to new projections released by the technology market research firm IDC on Wednesday. The firm expressed unusual confidence about its numbers.

The prediction is the result of several key indicators “lining up” – the first time that has occurred since IDC began publishing its FutureScan metrics a year and a half ago.

"In our world, this . . . syzygy, that moment when all the planets line up in orbit . . . just doesn’t happen often,” said John Gantz, IDC's Chief Research Officer in a published statement. In this case, all of IDC’s main metrics -- buyer expectations, vendor sales forecasts and macroeconomic indicators -- fall very close to 5 percent. Those indicators also align with IDC's own U.S. forecast, which is based on more data and other methodologies.

“For the moment all supply-side, demand-side, Wall Street-side, and IDC-side indicators agree 2006 will be a year of modest growth in IT spending,” IDC said on the site. For more on IDC’s FutureScan, see http://www.idc.com/prodserv/extras/futurescan.jsp.

About the Author

Stuart J. Johnston has covered technology, especially Microsoft, since February 1988 for InfoWorld, Computerworld, Information Week, and PC World, as well as for Enterprise Developer, XML & Web Services, and .NET magazines.

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