Leaders of the IT and telecoms industry expect a better year in 2004, and are looking back on 2003 with more satisfaction than they have been able to show since the end of the dotcom boom. That is the conclusion of FT-IT's annual survey of the company chiefs we have interviewed over the course of the year.
In the past two weeks, we have gone back to these business leaders and asked: Has 2003 turned out to a better or worse year for your company than you expected? Are you happier about prospects for your company and sector in 2004 than you were a year ago? What do you see as the chief priorities for your company in 2004? Do you see any 'next big thing' over the horizon?
Jon Moynihan, chairman of UbiNetics (telecoms testing equipment and chipsets) and executive chairman of PA Consulting Group, says:
"This year was very painful - the orders we have been getting in the past month were those we should have had a year ago. But the logjam in 3G is breaking and it's all coming together now. In the past month UbiNetics has signed three major technology deals to put its technology on to chips for 3G phones.
"Next year will be much busier, but not so much on the retail side of 3G, where 2005 will be the big year. Christmas 2004 will be an important time for sales of 3G handsets in Europe.
"For next year, we are seeing major levels of interest from Asia. Equipment suppliers and operators are scrambling to get into HSDPA [high-speed downlink packet access, a 3.5G technology that allows data to be transmitted at nearly 14 megabits per second]. Virtually every major operator seems to accept that this will come in fairly quickly after 3G.
"Beyond mobile telecoms, RFID [radio frequency identification] technology is really coming into its own. The tags are still expensive, but their price is coming down fast.
"On the consulting side, things are busier now - confidence among customers is gradually coming back. Companies are realising that they need to invest to avoid losing jobs to Asia and Eastern Europe - they need to ensure they don't stay in a funk forever."
