Dive Brief:
- The coronavirus pandemic is driving uncertainty in the business world and 58% of tech firms said customers canceled or postponed projects in April, a 15% increase from the previous month, according to a survey of more than 200 member companies from IT trade group CompTIA.
- By August, almost two-thirds of respondents expect business "may start to get back on track," as lockdowns ease in states. Execs are "generally upbeat and optimistic" about business outlooks, according to 46% of respondents. But the same percent are just "hanging in there."
- With staffing and hiring, 42% of companies are taking a "wait and see" approach, according to CompTIA. One-third say they've postponed recruiting and interviewing in the face of business uncertainty.
Dive Insight:
Though the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unravel — its full effects on business is still unclear — the relatively resilient world of IT is projecting a near-term rebound.
The expectation of an August turnaround is partly based on increased outreach from clients. April brought in new customer inquiries for 83% of companies, up from 76% in March. Communications, collaboration and A/V technologies led the pack of service categories driving new inquiries.
Most tech companies were able to maintain a solid level of activity in uncertain times, said Nancy Hammervik, CompTIA's executive vice president for industry relations, in a press release.
Despite their optimism, vendors must contend with tighter customer budgets in the year ahead. Half of CFOs surveyed by PwC say they plan to defer or cut IT costs, while 46% of small to midsize businesses plan similar spending rollbacks.
Global IT spend is heading for an 8% contraction in 2020, according to Gartner's projections. The firm expects executive priorities will shift away from growth or transformation projects, instead focusing on the mission-critical technology that powers critical work.
