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About the Information Technology Industry

Global spending on information technology is expected to have hit the US$3.6 trillion mark during 2011, rising 5.6% on the previous year. During 2011, due to the steadily improving economic outlook, small and medium sized businesses in the US spent 8% more on IT than what they had expected in the latter half of 2010. The average budget for small and medium sized business spending on information technology rose from a budget of US$121,770 in 2010 to US$132,000 in 2011.

In 2010 sales of business intelligence and analytics in the US outpaced overall IT growth, with the sector breaking the US$10 billion barrier, suggesting a rise of 13.5% over the previous year. Another fast growing sector in information technology is the cloud computing sector. This market is expected to double in size in the United States between 2010 and 2013, growing from US$8.7 billion in 2010 to US$16.7 billion in 2013.

IT Hardware and Personal Computers

In 2009 the global market for computer hardware was valued at US$193 billion, which represented a CAGR of 5.4% over the period spanning 2005-2009. The market for PCs hit a total revenue of US$150 billion in 2009, with a CAGR of 0.2% over the same period. The leading companies in the IT hardware market include HP, Acer, Dell, Toshiba, Fujitsu and Apple.

In 2011 Apple's Mac platform passed a global market share of 5% for the first time in 15 years. This is suggested to be down to strong growth from the Asia-Pacific region, with China becoming Apple's second largest market for Macs. Mac shipment growth outpaced the PC market in the third quarter of 2011 for the 22nd straight quarter. Apple's growth of 24.6% currently dwarfs the 5.3% growth seen by PC shipments in the same quarter.

Despite 22 consecutive quarters of Apple Macs outpacing PCs in terms of shipments, Microsoft Windows still holds by far the largest market share of the global operating systems industry, with 84.51%. Mac is a clear second place, with 14.35%, while Linux has 0.77% of the market.

Despite having released two newer versions of its operating system, Windows XP, released in 2001, is still the highest used OS out of the Microsoft Windows suite, with 41.36% of Windows users using it. Windows 7 is a close second with 39.82%, while Windows Vista trails in third place with 17.42%.

Cloud Computing

The global cloud computing market is predicted to grow by a large margin in the coming decade, with analysts predicting that this US$40.7 billion industry will expand to US$241 billion by 2020. There are three different core layers to the cloud computing sector; the public cloud, the virtual private cloud, and the private cloud.

- The Public Cloud is the standard cloud model, in which resources, such as applications and storage, are made available to the general public over the Internet. These include IBM's Blue Cloud, Google AppEngine and Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud. The total size of the global public cloud in 2011 was US$23.5 billion, and is expected to grow to a value of US$66.4 billion in 2020.

- The Virtual Private Cloud is a private cloud that exists within a public cloud. Examples include Amazon Virtual Private Cloud and Rackspace. The market for virtual private cloud computing was US$7.5 billion in 2011 and is expected to hit a global value of US$66.4 billion by 2020.

- The Private Cloud is a cloud that can only be accessed by members of a single organization. In 2020 this market is expected to be worth US$15.9 billion, growing from a 2011 value of US$7.8 billion.

IT Software

The software market hit a global value of US$265.4 billion in 2010, growing at a CAGR of around 4% since 2006. Sales of software for general business productivity and home usage applications proved to be the highest sellers, with a 24% share of the markets overall value, and was worth US$63.9 billion. There is not expected to be any let up in the future growth for the global software market, with the industry expected to hit a grand total value of US$356.7 billion by the end of 2015. The current leading players in the global IT software industry include IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Google, Yahoo! and Tata Consultancy Services.

Social Media

2011 saw the market for social media continue its dramatic growth. Facebook saw 200 million new users log on for the first time, giving a global total of 800 million users, while Twitter boasted 100 million active users and LinkedIn had 64 million users in the North American market alone.

Twitter saw its popularity continue growing, with a report suggesting that every day the world writes the equivalent of a 10 million-page book in tweets, or 230 million tweets. In September Twitter announced that it believes that it drives over 100 million clicks to websites per month.

YouTube, which is owned by Google, also saw usage grow dramatically in 2011, with the company announcing that videos on the website have been played collectively more than 1 trillion times over the year. In a blog announcement YouTube compared the figure to every single person on earth viewing 140 videos on its site, or twice the number of stars in the Milky Way.

Global Players in the Information Technology Market

Microsoft Corporation

Microsoft Corporation is engaged in developing, licensing and supporting a range of software products and services. It also designs and sells hardware, and delivers online advertising to the customers. It has five segments: Windows & Windows Live Division (Windows Division), Server and Tools, Online Services Division (OSD), Microsoft Business Division (MBD), and Entertainment and Devices Division (EDD). Its products include operating systems for personal computers (PCs), servers, phones, and other intelligent devices; server applications for distributed computing environments; productivity applications; business solution applications; desktop and server management tools; software development tools; video games, and online advertising. Its cloud-based computing services include Bing and Windows Live Essentials suite. In October 2011, it acquired Skype Global S.a r.l. In November 2011, the Company acquired VideoSurf Inc.

IBM

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is an information technology (IT) company. The Company operates under five segments: Global Technology Services (GTS), Global Business Services (GBS), Software, Systems and Technology, and Global Financing. GTS primarily provides IT infrastructure services and business process services. GBS primarily provides professional services and application management services. IBM's Software segment consists primarily of middleware and operating systems software. Global Financing invests in financing assets, leverages with debt and manages the associated risks. In April 2011, the Company acquired TRIRIGA, Inc. In October 2011, the Company acquired i2. In October 2011, the Company acquired Algorithmics. In October 2011, it acquired Q1 Labs Inc. In January 2012, the Company acquired Platform Computing. In January 2012, the Company acquired Green Hat.

Apple Inc.

Apple Inc. (Apple) along with its subsidiaries is engaged in designs, manufactures and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players, and sells a range of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications. The Company's products and services include iPhone, iPad, Mac, iPod, Apple TV, a portfolio of consumer and professional software applications, the iOS and Mac OS X operating systems, iCloud, and a range of accessory, service and support offerings. It also sells and delivers digital content and applications through the iTunes Store, App Store, iBookstore, and Mac App Store.The Company sells to consumers, small and mid-sized businesses (SMB), and education, enterprise and government customers. During the year ended November 24, 2011, the Company, as part of a consortium, acquired Nortel Networks Corporation's patent portfolio.

Google Inc.

Google Inc. (Google) is focused on improving the ways people connect with information. The Company generates revenue primarily by delivering online advertising. The Company focuses on areas, such as search, advertising, operating systems and platforms, and enterprise. Businesses use its AdWords program to promote their products and services with targeted advertising. In addition, the third parties that comprise the Google Network use its AdSense program to deliver relevant ads that generate revenue and enhance the user experience. In February 2010, the Company acquired Aardvar and On2 Technologies, Inc. In May 2010, The Company acquired of AdMob, Inc. (AdMob). In August 2010, the Company acquired Slide, Inc. (Slide). In December 2010, the Company acquired Widevine Technologies, Inc. (Widevine). In April 2011, the Company acquired PushLife. In September 2011, the Company acquired Zagat.

Dell Inc.

Dell Inc. (Dell) is a technology company that offers a range of technology product categories, including mobility products, desktop personal computers (PCs), software and peripherals, servers and networking products, storage and services. Its services include a range of configurable information technology and business services, including infrastructure technology, consulting and applications, and product-related support services. It operates in four global business segments: Large Enterprise, Public, Small and Medium Business, and Consumer. It designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells, and supports a range of products and services that can be customized to individual customer requirements. In February 2011, it acquired Compellent Technologies, Inc.During the fiscal year ended January 28, 2011, it completed five acquisitions. In August 2011, the Company acquired Force10 Networks.