Gartner Dataquest Survey Shows Strong Budget Spending on IT Support Services Through 2003.

Business & Technology Editors

LOWELL, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 29, 2001

New Report Examines Spending Habits and Perceptions

of IT Infrastructure Support Services Users

While many enterprises have cut back on some of their technology purchases, they will continue to spend money on external hardware and software support services, according to a new survey by Dataquest Inc., a unit of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT and ITB).

In a survey of more than 250 organizations in January of 2001, Gartner Dataquest found that 52 percent of those surveyed expect to increase their spending on external hardware support services and 63 percent expect to increase what they spend on external software support services between 2001 and 2003.

For those expecting to increase their budgets, the average two-year increase is expected to be 28 percent for hardware support and 27 percent for software support services. Only a small percentage expect to decrease their spending in each segment, with 13 percent of organizations decreasing their spending on external hardware support and 5 percent on software support.

"This indicates a very healthy sustained opportunity for infrastructure support providers," said Eric Rocco, vice president for Gartner Dataquest's IT services worldwide group. "Despite a downturn in IT capital asset spending, users still need to support the assets they have installed. This trend makes the support industry relatively recession-proof."

The survey results show that the hardware manufacturer is the most popular source of support, ranging from a low of 30 percent of the time for workgroup/LAN servers to a high of 47 percent for storage devices. The most important attribute users look for is the ability to provide a single point-of-contact for all hardware support.

Seventy percent of 177 respondents said they have used Internet-based support services. The usage varies slightly by the size of organization. The respondents reported that they received a satisfactory answer only 52 percent of the time when they used Internet-based support services.

There has been a two-year trend of customers using more Internet-based support, and Gartner Dataquest analysts said this is a signal that vendor investment in Web support sites has been worthwhile. However, the participation rate for Internet-based support services and a satisfactory answer rate are too low given the investment by vendors in this technology.

"Vendors must focus on increasing the awareness of Internet-based service offerings and improve the satisfaction rate for answers to technical problems," said Bob Igou, senior analyst for Gartner Dataquest's IT services worldwide group. "Vendors could train their customer service reps to promote Web site use and teach customers how to use its facilities. Recordings on the support interactive voice response may also suggest that customers go to the Web."

Additional information is available in the Gartner Dataquest User Wants and Needs report "Infrastructure Support Services: The Customer's View." This report provides the results of a comprehensive study regarding the spending habits, wants, needs and perceptions of 253 infrastructure support services users in North America that have contracted with external service providers.

This information is produced by Gartner Dataquest's IT services group. This group provides a complete picture of the IT services industry including network integration and support, hardware services, consulting and system integration, outsourcing, life cycle service, strategic partnering and services marketing, vertical markets, and software support. To purchase the report or subscribe to one of Gartner Dataquest's IT services programs, please call 800-419-DATA or 408-468-8009.

Gartner Dataquest is the recognized leader in providing the high-technology and financial communities with market intelligence for the semiconductor, computer systems and peripherals, communications, document management, software, and services sectors of the global information technology industry.

Gartner, Inc. is a research and advisory firm that helps more than 10,000 clients understand technology and drive business growth. Gartner's divisions consist of Gartner Research, Gartner Consulting, Gartner Measurement and Gartner Events. Founded in 1979, Gartner, Inc. is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut and consists of 4,600 associates, including 1,400 research analysts and consultants, in more than 80 locations worldwide. The company achieved fiscal 2000 revenue of $859 million. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.