Positive Momentum Continues In Latest CompTIA IT Industry Business Confidence Index

Optimism up for third consecutive quarter; survey also signals pent up demand for hiring

The CompTIA IT Industry Business Confidence Index continued its upward trend in Q2, marking the third consecutive quarter that information technology (IT) industry executives expressed optimism about business prospects.

The CompTIA IT Industry Business Confidence Index stands at 61.3 on a 100-point scale, up slightly from 60.2 in Q1. The forward-looking component of the index projects a gain of 2.7 points.

The index is based on IT executives’ opinions of the U.S. economy, the IT industry and their own company. It is produced by CompTIA, the leading non-profit association for the IT industry.

“The economy component of the Index has shown the most improvement,” said Tim Herbert, vice president, research, CompTIA. “Modest, but growing confidence of IT executives mirrors other economic indicators which have shown positive trending in recent months.”

Still, there are factors that keep IT executives up at night. Topping the list is concern over price sensitive customers, cited by 49 percent of executives.

“It’s taken time for segments of customers to shift from cost containment mode to invest for the future mode,” Herbert noted. “The everything-as-a-service phenomenon has helped, giving buyers more options and flexibility.”

The biggest jump among issues concerning IT executives falls under the heading of disruptive technologies and business models. It increased from 15 percent in Q1 to 23 percent in Q2.

“Two areas – cloud computing and mobility – are key factors,” Herbert said. “With such far-reaching impacts of these technologies, firms across the IT channel are still working through how to best meet the needs of their customers and their business.”

Pent Up Demand for Hiring
The CompTIA IT Industry Business Confidence Index for Q2 suggests there is pent up demand among IT firms to increase their workforce.

One-third of companies surveyed said they are understaffed, while 42 percent said they are fully staffed, but want to hire in order to expand.

Half of all companies said they have job openings. Broken down by company size, 76 percent of large firms; 75 percent of medium companies; 47 percent of small business; and 18 percent of micro firms reported having current job openings.

Most open positions are technical roles: technicians and IT support personnel, application developers, cloud experts, network engineers and security experts.

The survey also reveals that it’s twice as challenging for companies to find technical workers with the right skills and expertise (net 57 percent) than it is to find non-technical workers (26 percent).

CompTIA’s IT Industry Business Confidence Index is based on an April 2014 online survey of 305 IT industry companies. This study and all CompTIA research are examples of how the association re-invests its resources to help IT channel businesses expand and grow. The full report is available at http://www.slideshare.net/comptia/comp-tia-q2-2014-it-business-confidence-index.

About CompTIA
CompTIA is the voice of the world’s information technology (IT) industry. Its members are the companies at the forefront of innovation; and the professionals responsible for maximizing the benefits organizations receive from their investments in technology. CompTIA is dedicated to advancing industry growth through educational programs, market research, networking events, professional certifications and public policy advocacy. For more information, visit http://www.comptia.org.