IDC Finds IT Spending Still Cautious in Western Europe...

A new survey from IDC's European Vertical Markets group finds that
Western European companies are continuing to take a
cautious approach to IT investment in 2005. While 32% of the companies
surveyed will increase the IS budget this year, only 22% will increase the
share of external spending. The trend of external spending not keeping pace
with gains in the overall IS budget is particularly evident in banking. The
survey also found that value-added resellers will be the primary source of
IT products and services in 2005, a trend that reflects the large number of
SMBs among European companies.

"Solutions providers can find opportunities in all of the verticals,
provided they are able to assess a company's investment direction in the
very different verticals of the European economy," said Giuliana Folco,
research director, European Vertical Markets.

The aim of the survey was to understand IT spending directions, solution
priorities, and investment plans for a number of vertical markets. IDC
interviewed 1,150 companies from the top 5 Western European countries
across the vertical markets, addressing only companies with more than 20
employees. The survey's results cannot be generalized to the whole European
market.

IDC has produced a series of studies utilizing the survey findings for
Europe's vertical markets. Major areas of investigation are:

- 2005 solution priorities and investment plans by solution and
vertical market

-  Web interface availability and plans by solution and vertical market

- Adoption of new technologies and mobility, outsourcing, the role of
IT within the organization, and end-user satisfaction with vendors by
vertical market

Studies are available for the following vertical markets: Banking;
insurance and other financial services; discrete manufacturing; process
manufacturing; healthcare services; transport; telecommunications, media,
and utilities; retail and wholesale; business services; education; and
government.

Studies based on the results from this survey focusing on all vertical
markets and on verticals by company size include:
IT Decision-Making Process and Strategies in Western European
Vertical Markets: An IDC Survey (Doc #M01M, July 2005)

2005 Solution Priorities in Western European Vertical Markets: An IDC
Survey (Doc #M02M, July 2005)

Mobile Solutions Opportunities in Western European Vertical Markets:
An IDC survey (Doc #M04M, July 2005)

Security in Western European Vertical Markets: 2005 IDC survey (Doc
#M05M, July 2005)

Western European Vertical Markets IS Operating Budget Dynamics,
Channel Selection, and Vendor Satisfaction: An IDC survey (Doc #M06M, July
2005)

Mapping Solution Priorities in Western European SMBs (Doc #MM02M,
July 2005)

Western European SMBs IS Operating Budget Dynamics, Channel
Selection, and Customer Satisfaction, 2005 (Doc #MM03M, July 2005)

Mobilizing the Western European SMB Workforce (Doc #MM04M, July 2005)

More studies from this survey with specific focus on each vertical are
available for the following vertical markets: Banking; insurance and other
finance; government; healthcare; education; transport; retail and
wholesale; and manufacturing.