Analyst Profile Detailed
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Stephen Minton
Vice President of Worldwide IT Markets and Strategies within IDC's Global Research Organization
Team:
IDC Predictions Team
IT Professional Strategies
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Stephen Minton is Vice President for the IDC Worldwide IT Markets research group, focusing on IT spending and global end-user trends. Stephen’s research group is responsible for the Worldwide IT and Telecom Black Book programs, in addition to the US Black Book, European Black Book, Leading IT Indicators, Information Society Index and Executive Market Watch research services.
Stephen is based in the United States, after re-locating from IDC UK in 2001. His research expertise includes global ICT and economic analysis, and he works extensively with end-user surveys to monitor IT budget and market trends around the world.
Stephen is the author of papers which focus on Globalization and the spread of technology into emerging markets, and is a regular speaker on the subject of business user trends. He has spoken at major industry events and conferences in Australia, Germany, France, UK, Japan and the United States. In 2002, he addressed the United Nations in New York, speaking to UN ambassadors on the subject of the global Information Society. He is regularly quoted for his views on IT markets and business trends by major publications including the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal and Business Week and has featured on CNBC and Bloomberg television.
Stephen previously worked with Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in a marketing role. Originally from Hartlepool in the North of England, he graduated from the University of Salford in 1995. He has also worked in the field of consumer market research with Millward Brown International. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Massachusetts.
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IT Spending Survey Supports Downside Scenario
Stephen Minton
Oct 2008 - Doc # lcUS21491608
IDC Link
In October, IDC surveyed almost 400 businesses and more than 1,000 consumers to explore the impact the financial crisis is having on short-term planning (general spending plans and specific IT investment). In general, the survey results don ...
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Frequently Asked Questions
| We hear a lot about Globalisation - is it real, and what does it mean? |
Globalisation is very real, and is already happening. This has direct implications for our political and cultural futures, but what it means for the IT market is that we are entering the very beginnings of a major, worldwide deployment of technology which will itself act as one of the main drivers for the wider picture of globalisation. Technology is undergoing a rapid process of globalisation, but technology itself will also be the reason for much of what we refer to as globalisation in a wider context. Quite simply, this rapid deployment of technology is happening in every corner of the globe, which means that now is the time for businesses to internationalise their own business models. If you don't do it now, you will miss the moment.
| | Does this mean that companies need one strategy for one global market? |
Absolutely not. The New Economy means many things, but it does not mean the death of local cultures and local nuances. In fact, the globalised New Economy will in many ways strengthen these local variations by de-centralising business practices. The Internet, about to become a truly World Wide Web, will drive the proliferation of products and strategies tailored towards individual local markets. This is not just a language issue, although language is a big issue, but also a cultural issue too. You don't go to Greece with the same strategy that you use in the UK. It won't work. Maybe your products are, to a certain extent, globalised, but your overall strategy and positioning cannot be. This is what we call "glocalisation" - a key element of a successful global strategy.
| | How does Europe fit into the worldwide New Economy? |
Europe is, right now, the hub for some of the most exciting and innovative developments, at technology level and at business level. Northern Europe, the Nordic region and the UK, are white hot technology markets. Throughout Europe, there is clear innovation and potential. In Spain, for example, the potential for developing Spanish-language focused products and services is huge. There is a culture, within Europe, and in some wider countries within what we call the EMEA region, of innovative development and usage of technology, and this is spreading through all areas of business organisations. By 2004, Sweden, South Africa and the UK will be edging ahead of the US in the proportion of IT spending to the overall economy.
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Driven by the rise of the Internet and eBusiness, European companies have debunked the theory that the after-effects of year 2000 would delay or inhibit IT spending this year. With IT services growing 13% and the software market expanding 14%, year 2000 actually represents boom time for IT vendors in Europe. Even the hardware market, hardest hit by Y2K effects during the last quarter of 1999, will recover to healthy growth of 10% this year
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