Between 2000 and 2002, the number of small organizations utilizing midrange computing environments has been on a downward trend. In 2003, that trend began to accelerate mildly. However, this year it has moved into the fast lane, according to preliminary data in our 2004/2005 Information Systems Spending & Technology study. The annual study, which has been published since 1989, defines small organizations as having revenues of under $250 million.
In 2000, exactly one-fourth of all small companies in the study reported an increase in capacity of their midrange computing environments, while only 3% reported a decrease in capacity. That remained constant until 2003, when the number of companies reporting both increases and decreases in capacity showed a marked change.
This year, the number of companies reporting an increase in capacity actually grew by a small margin. However, the number of small organizations reporting they no longer have midrange systems in their environment jumped significantly. In 2003, only a third of these organizations reported they did not have a midrange system onboard, that number has now jumped to almost 50%.
Midrange systems are defined as general purpose systems that have processing capability from the midrange up to the mainframe. Newer server technology is now broken out into a separate class in our study, which is probably responsible for some of the change. However, the large server category did not grow enough to account for the extent of the change.
Figure 1 illustrates midrange computing trends in small organizations since 2000, including our preliminary figures for 2004.
Figure 1
Midrange Computing Trends in Small Organizations
|
Small Organizations (under $250 M in revenue) |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
|
Increase |
25 % |
24 % |
25% |
15% |
16% |
|
Decrease |
3 |
3 |
5 |
12 |
2 |
|
No Change |
48 |
53 |
53 |
41 |
33 |
|
None Installed |
24 |
20 |
17 |
32 |
49 |
April 2004
The 2004/2005 Information System Spending & Technology is now available. This important planning tool has assisted hundreds of senior IT managers in making critical budget and technology forecasting decisions for 15 years.
For additional information or to purchase the 2004/2005 Information System Spending & Technology study, please contact us at 1-800-326-8100, ext. 51.