US confidence good for NZ industry

A recent survey found that IT company confidence is expected to rapidly outpace economic growth in the US, which KPMG believes spells good news for the local IT industry.KPMG, a global network of professional firms that provide audit, tax and advisory services, conducted the survey of more than 130 IT companies in the US. Two-thirds of senior technology executives said they thought that the industry would recover from the economic crisis ahead of the overall US economy and more than 78% were expecting stronger revenue in 2010.KPMG Technology Partner Adrian Michael said that the results are good sign for the future of the local IT sector.“Because the US economy is a leading indicator of future trends globally, it is reasonable to expect that New Zealand executives are going to be feeling more confident about the New Zealand economy,” he said. “Anecdotally, many of our technology clients are telling us that they are confident about the economy and their prospects. No one is expecting a boom, but the mood is one of cautious optimism.”And while 68% of respondents said that they cut costs by reducing headcount, only 14% of respondents said they were considering further reductions in 2010.Michael said that in New Zealand the focus for companies has shifted from cost-cutting to long-term growth.“Most of the jobs cuts have already been made,” he said. “But we still can’t expect to begin in earnest for a while yet.”