Andrew Bartels

New forecasts predict increased levels of investment in communications equipment and software. Find out what sectors show most promise in the year ahead.

All categories of tech budgets will see growing demand this year and next, and software spending will be particularly strong.

New data from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis mostly confirmed the key elements of our 2021 US tech market forecast. Yet there were some surprises. 

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its 2020 occupational employment survey (OES) on March 31. We use this data for our estimates and forecast of US business and government spending on tech staff, utilizing both the data on tech jobs by industry and on average annual salaries for different tech positions. But the […]

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed the $1.85 trillion coronavirus relief act, officially called the American Rescue Plan. This fiscal boost — coming on top of the $900 billion relief bill adopted in January 2021, the prospect of most American adults getting vaccinated by June, and the $1.6 billion increase in personal savings in […]

In our last US tech market forecast (“US Tech Market Outlook For 2021: After The Election — How Politics, The Pandemic, And The Economy Will Shape Industry Tech Budgets“), we projected that US business and government spending on tech goods, services, and staff would be weak, with a 0.4% decrease. At that time, the Republicans […]

Forrester forecasts the AI software market will grow to $37 billion by 2025. Find out what's driving the growth and where the limitations are in this blog post.

It's going to be a rough start to 2021 for the US tech market. Read our key takeaways from our latest forecast.

When President Trump broke off negotiations with congressional Democrats on a new economic stabilization package on Tuesday, October 6, the already high risk of a deeper economic recession shot up — and with it, increasing prospects of a tech market recession lasting well into 2021. The president has backtracked to a degree, with calls for […]

Remember the old Road Runner cartoons where Wile E. Coyote runs over a cliff chasing the Road Runner then hangs in midair for a couple of seconds before plummeting? Right now, the tech market reminds me of that cartoon. Recent tech vendor earnings and other data suggest the pandemic recession’s damage to the US tech […]

The Clock Keeps Ticking On Microsoft’s Pursuit To Purchase TikTok In The US Late last year, we predicted that companies like Facebook or Meredith Corporation would court TikTok for acquisition but that its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, would ultimately hold out for an IPO. Now, it looks like we were half right. Increasing scrutiny from lawmakers over data privacy concerns and […]

US GDP fell 32.9% in the second quarter. Learn the implications for the economy and the tech sector specifically.

Our tech market forecast for the three economies shows tech spending will fall 5% to 7% in the best-case scenario.

Vice President Andrew Bartels examines the swirling factors impacting the Canadian tech market in his latest forecast.

Vice President Andrew Bartels puts the latest Forrester tech market forecasts up against the largest software vendors' outlooks. Read the takeaways here.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is now projecting most countries will see real GDP fall by 7% to 10% in 2020. Find out what this means for tech market growth rates.

What do the most recent software spending figures reveal about the long-term impact of the pandemic on the tech market? VP Andrew Bartels breaks it all down by reviewing some of the top SaaS vendors’ earnings reports.

Last Friday’s news of a drop in the unemployment rate to 13.3% and an increase of 2.5 million in employment was unexpected good news (see the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) recent Employment Situation Summary). The US stock market promptly rallied, and on Monday, June 8, the S&P 500 Index surpassed the level at […]

Despite state and local governments allowing stores to reopen, consumer traffic will most likely remain well below pre-pandemic levels, making it likely that the pandemic recession will last well into 2021.