IT industry faces "tough year", says OECD

PARIS - The global economic downturn will hit the Internet economy hard in 2009, resulting in flat or even declining growth, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The report, called IT Outlook 2008, says that some sectors of the IT industry will weather the storm better than others. Spending on software and IT services by governments and business is likely to remain constant. Internet-related sales and investments in infrastructure will also remain solid, driven by demand for high-speed Internet from consumers and business, although some infrastructure investments may be held over due to...