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 the credit crisis.
But the semiconductor industry is set to fall nearly 6% in 2009, after slow growth of 2.2% in 2008. Semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales are a leading indicator for the sector and for ICT goods, and have plunged of late. Major corporate customers in sectors hard hit by the downturn, such as banking, insurance and retail, are also cutting back IT spending plans in 2009, and IT sectors who invested heavily in growing their business in emerging markets or in new goods and services may find those markets weakening.
For more information on the report, click here.
