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Follow UsNEW DELHI: Forrester Research, and the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) have joined hands for a new US Tech Sector Index.
The new index will provide a detailed look at the current health of the US tech economy as well as at what's ahead. This new benchmark is the most comprehensive measure of the tech economy available, and is based on 11 measures of IT demand, supply, and the strength of US-based IT providers.
This joint initiative by Forrester Research and ITAA will offer a barometer of the IT industry to vendors, customers, economists, and end users, as no single comprehensive measure of the health of the sector existed, even though IT is one of the major drivers of the US economy.
The index, which will be made available on a quarterly basis going forward, has already researched the health of the US tech sector from 2003 to 2005 as its foundation (where 2002 equals 100).
The index is based on 11 measures of the health of the tech economy, organized under three major headings - demand indices, supply indices, and the strength of US-based IT providers.
All the 11 measures are weighted evenly in the overall index score and each one is available quarterly. Four of the measures are government measures, four are Forrester proprietary measures, one is a hybrid Forrester/government measure, and the remaining two come from other outside sources. All indices use a 2002 quarterly average as a baseline with the exception of Forrester's analysis of large US vendor profits.
The demand indices are designed to measure overall demand for IT hardware, software and services in the US and consist of four components viz. - CIO confidence, Forrester's outlook for business investment in IT, US technology exports, and US revenues for 39 large IT vendors.
The supply indices are designed to measure the overall health of IT service and product supply in the US and consist of three components viz. - Venture capital investment in IT, Total IT industry employment, and US technology imports.
The firm strength indices are designed to measure the overall strength of US IT solution providers and examine the interplay between supply and demand and have four components viz. - Profits of 22 large US-based vendors, global revenues of 22 large US-based vendors, (IT) prices, and stock prices.