Abstract
This IDC study provides an analysis of global economic conditions and their
impact on IT markets around the world. It answers such questions as:
- What is shaping the developments in the global economy in the opening months of 2008, and what impact will these drivers have on the outlook for the global economy and IT spending going forward?
- What will be the key drivers for a recovery in IT spending?
- Where are IT spending prospects the most promising, and where are they the weakest?
"The global economy is still faced with a variety of risk factors," said Anna
Toncheva, economist at IDC. "Intensifying financial instability, inflation
pressures, and global imbalances have led to increased synchronization of the
business cycles between the United States and the rest of the world over 1Q08.
When business cycles are closely tied together, macroeconomic shocks tend to
spread faster from one area to another. And though the current housing and
financial crisis in the United States seems comparable only to the mildest
cases in world history, the compression on global economic activity will
probably linger over the course of the next six to seven quarters and will
inevitably discourage investment plans."