Compass Intelligence

Expectations are positive...

Already there are signs of improvement in this New Year - stocks are up, unemployment is down, ICT buyers expect to spend and more than 30% of managers expect to hire new employees over the next three months. All these "signs" set the stage for what could feel like a surge of growth. In truth, it will be the release of pent up demand as new budgets become available in 2010.

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As such, it has never been more important to further segment and understand your customers, track your competitors and discover or innovate key routes to market than now. Compass Intelligence specializes in accelerating our customers' planning in all of these areas.

Excerpt from a recent report titled: "Health Care Technology in 2009: A Look at the Hottest Tech Trends in Patient Care" - Click to buy the Report

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 includes a groundbreaking piece of legislation that will change the health care industry as we know it, and create new opportunities for IT providers.  The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) is the part of the stimulus package that specifically addresses healthcare. It provides for $19 billion to be spent on health information technology, and the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs). According to the House Committee on Ways and Means, the HITECH Act addresses four specific goals: 

·         “Requiring the government to take a leadership role to develop standards by 2010 that allow for the nationwide electronic exchange and use of health information to improve quality and coordination of care.

·         Investing $20 billion in health information technology infrastructure and Medicare and Medicaid incentives to encourage doctors and hospitals to use HIT [health information technology] to improve quality and coordination of care.

·         Saving the government $10 billion, and generating additional savings throughout the health sector, through improvements in quality of care and care coordination, and reductions in medical errors and duplicative care.

·         Strengthening Federal privacy and security law to protect identifiable health information from misuse as the health care sector increases use of Health IT." 

According to the Congressional Budget Office, within the next ten years, 90 percent of doctors and 70 percent of hospitals will be using comprehensive electronic health records as a result of the programs put in place by the HITECH Act. The legislation also establishes a process for developing standards for the nationwide electronic exchange of information between health providers by the end of 2009, and further establishes a certification process for health information technology products. Certification will be carried out by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The legislation funds several areas of health care IT, including training, dissemination of best practices, telemedicine, inclusion of health information technology in clinical education, and State grants for promoting health information technology.

The Entrepreneur's Spirit:

Yes, SMB customers are also suffering in this difficult economic environment, but they are not defeated.  Entrepreneurs don’t give up easy…

When Compass Intelligence surveyed IT buyers in firms with <50 employees at the end of 2008 and then again at in 2009 regarding their expectations for the 2009 IT budget (how will it change over 2008 spending), most users  expected it to either stay the same or even increase:

•       Expecting a Decrease more respondents expect to see spending decrease this year, rising from 26% at the end of last year to 38% at the end of Q1 09.

•       Keeping it the Same the largest group of respondents expect spending to stay the same and this percent changes the least between the two periods. 

•       Expecting an Increase even during the midst of the worst part of this recession, roughly 20% of the small business decision-makers surveyed expect to spend more on tech this year. 

Kneko Burney, the President and Chief Strategist at Compass Intelligence, discusses recent highlights from our bi-annual Online Customer Experience research.  Small and Mid-sized businesses are the focus of this research and it explores some of the top tech and non-tech companies serving SMBs online.  Discussions and key highlights of this research includes a look at SMB online portals, ease of use, available content, learning resources, cool tools, and how the differing companies are successfully reaching SMBs in this tight economy.  Want to learn more?

Check out the Video and Get the Free Download: http://is.gd/tHUP

Check out the report: http://is.gd/tHVn

Get the Online Customer Experience Subscription Brochure: http://is.gd/tHW9

Posted By: Stephanie Atkinson, http://www.compassintelligence.com/

An excerpt from a recent Government IT report posted in April 2009...

"Particularly in our present era of the first tech-savvy President, how the Federal government spends money on IT will set the tone for how private industry spends on IT as well. Private IT spending will be influenced positively by several factors, including:

• An increasing focus on Federal IT modernization efforts

• Policies designed to promote innovation

• Stimulus spending that will afford private IT companies new opportunities to provision goods and services

In the federal arena, the stimulus spending bill is already starting to provide a big boost to IT spending as money is provided for a wide variety of projects. Federal spending on IT reached $129 billion in 2008, and will see increases in the mid single-digits through 2013, when spending will reach $159 billion. The largest category of Federal IT spending is in the telecom segment, which will receive a big boost due to new Federal policies regarding broadband. Telecom spending by the Federal government will reach $47 billion in 2009, ramping up faster than many other categories to reach $59 billion by 2013."

Written By: Dan Blacharski

VIEW THE FULL REPORT: Change Government: What does Obama mean for the IT industry?

Most companies feel their business has been negatively affected by the economic downturn.  According to Compass Intelligence research, nearly two-thirds of respondents felt their business had been negatively impacted by the economy.  When looking at how decision makers perceive the economy, across business verticals, several trends appear.  Respondents in the government and health care sector tended to have lower response rates to negative statements about the economy while those in retail had higher response rates. 

Three quarters of respondents in the retail sector indicate a negative economic impact.  In comparison, less than half of those in health care feel their business has been negatively affected.  Job security appears to be more of a concern for those in the manufacturing sector, with 44% of those decision makers concerned about their job, while it is less of a concern in the government and health care fields. 

• Retail has been the hardest hit vertical as a result of the economic downturn.
• Three quarters of respondents in the retail sector felt their business has been negatively affected by the economy.  Just 34% of those in government believe their business has been adversely affected.
• Retail has the lowest expectation (22.9%) of an IT spending increase in 2009 while government has the highest expectation (36.0%).

To purchase the full report on this latest survey data: http://is.gd/hrRH

Written and Prepared By Amy Cravens, Contributing Analyst

http://www.compassintelligence.com

Compass Intelligence finds that social networks have a potential for business applications, but these are not yet being leveraged.  Most activities on social networking sites are personal or non-productive.  For instance, the top activities on FaceBook are making and staying connected with friends. Among the popular networking sites, LinkedIn is the most business oriented.  Top activities on LinkedIn include making professional connections, staying in touch with colleagues, and joining professional groups on the site.  While LinkedIn has more of a professional bent, with most users spending less than 30 minutes a week on the site, it can not be considered a business critical tool. Thus while the popularity of social networking continues to expand, business users are not yet truly working the social network. 

• Of the 10,000+ working American’s surveyed in late November 2008, nearly 60% said they were active on a social networking site. 
•  The most popular site, according to research, is FaceBook, with nearly 35% of respondents being registered members of this site.
• Social networking sites are not currently being leveraged for business proposes, with most activities centering on personal relationships.

To view details on the full report and survey data: http://is.gd/hrUr 

Written and Prepared by Amy Cravens, Contributing Analyst

http://www.compassintelligence.com

Compass Intelligence anticipates US IT spending to reach $714.5 billion in 2009, an increase of 4.1% from the previous year.  This growth rate reflects a slight climb from 2008 growth rates (3.7%).  While spending in 1H 2009 will be restricted due to the economic environment, spending is expected to improve in 2H 2009.  Growth rates will continue to climb throughout the remainder of the forecast.  Growth will tend to stem from small and mid-sized companies and less from enterprise businesses.  While the total US IT market will grow 4.1% in 2009, enterprise spending will account for just 2.8% of spending growth.  Enterprise businesses, despite their slower growth in spending, will remain the largest spending category.

Spiking unemployment is expected to drive growth in a new class of at-home businesses and will open up some interesting, though moderate revenue opportunities for ICT vendors able to go that far down-stream. Given the current environment, IT vendors and providers will need to search harder to find areas of light in an otherwise dark economy. Based on a study of 10,527 working Americans, Compass Intelligence finds the following:

• 81.3% of respondents believe that America will rise stronger from the current economic crisis due to lessons learned.

• Nearly 30% of survey participants anticipate increasing their 2009 IT budget as compared to 2008.

• The top three spending categories for 2009 are computer systems, wireless services/applications, and web infrastructure.

Below are a few links to the most recent Business IT reports, including the one from this research (first bullet):

• New Year’s Bustle? Expectations for 2009 ICT Spending in the US – From Crisis to Slow, Long-term Recovery
• Economic Impact On IT Spending: Market Dynamics & Insights on US IT Spending
• Economy 2.0: New Challenges & Opportunities in US Business ICT Spending ~Part One: All Businesses
• Enhancing the Enterprise: IT Trends and Technology Opportunities
• Exploring the Latest in Technology: Telecom and IT in a Changing World

Written By: Amy Cravens, Contributing Guide - http://www.compassintelligence.com/

Looking at the SMB Online Experience

• Top ranked vendors include: IBM, Microsoft, AT&T, Dell and Cisco (in order of rank).
• Vendors that ranked lowest include: Centennial Wireless, DigitalWork.com, Country Financial Services and Alaska Communication System (in order from lowest to highest).
• Best practice: Vendors should use interactive tabs on the homepage for your business’ various customer segments.  This adds depth, without adding clutter.
• Worst Practice: Alienate business customers unintentionally by using loosely defined segments, such as “Small” vs. “Enterprise,” without any other ways to engage them, such as by vertical industry or job function.

To see the full press release, click here:

http://www.compassintelligence.com/content.aspx?title=PressRelease13

To get a free executive summary on this research click here:

http://www.compassintelligence.com/content.aspx?title=UpcomingStudies

Prepared By Stephanie Atkinson

www.compassintelligence.com

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Business Decision-makers are playing key role in mobile solutions purchasing.

Based on a recent Compass Intelligence survey, line-of-business decision-makers are becoming more influential on IT purchasing across industries  These IT purchasing decisions, generally made by directors, managers, or executive levels, are finding that employees of all ranks are becoming more influential on purchasing mobile and wireless devices and solutions.  Some recent research finding are presented below: 

• 58% of the 1,382 IT Decision-makers interviewed claim Line-of-Business decision-makers are becoming critical influencers on mobile solutions purchasing. Business Decision-makers from large enterprises are leading the trend.
• 70% of the 209 IT Decision Makers from large enterprises (those with more than 1,000 employees) interviewed claim Line-of-Business decision-makers are becoming critical influencers in mobile solutions procurement, 
• Only 55% of the IT Decision-makers from small businesses (<100 employees) claimed they are critical influencers, about 15 percent lower than enterprise business responses. 
• These decision-makers interviewed are randomly selected from 10 major industry verticals.

  Prepared By Nian Cheng

http://www.compassintelligence.com/