ITAA Has a Feel For Industry

VB: How's membership? Growing?

Miller: We grew by about 11 percent last year. The reality is the industry continues to suffer, and most trade associations lost members last year. Some of the small ones went out of business.

VB: Who have you lost?

Miller: Of the companies we lost so far this year, about half of them are M&A, and about one-quarter went out of business. The other quarter has totally locked down in terms of spending.

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VB: What's the general mood from members on business?

Miller: I talk to CEOs almost constantly, and it's very uneven. Those in the commercial sector are still not very optimistic about this year. Some companies that have specialized areas, particularly government, are seeing some positive news. With President Bush recommending a 15-plus-percent increase in government IT spending for 2003, that could bring some new opportunity.

VB: What's the value proposition you sell to potential members?

Miller: One is putting members in front of customers,enhancing their visibility, and marketing and sales opportunities. Second is networking. We can come together to share a lot of information. Third, we do a lot of research%85to help members define their businesses. Fourth is public-policy work.

VB: Is that primarily a lobbying arm?

Miller: In terms of specific public-policy issues, it ranges from tax issues to labor and human-resources issues to immigration to procurement to intellectual property protection to education. IT has been fortunate not to be a very heavily regulated industry. But it's not just good fortune,it's a lot of hard work on the part of ITAA.

VB: Do you partner with other industry organizations?

Miller: We collaborate with regional associations around the country on educational and networking programs and public policy. In all, there are probably about 15 or 20 that we work with on a regular basis. With most of the other big high-tech trade associations, we stay in touch and meet to discuss public policy.

VB: What are your goals for the remainder of the year?

Miller: The [challenge now is to try to maintain our membership base in what continues to be a very tough time.

VB: So you see a direct correlation between the economy and your enrollment numbers?

Miller: Corporate overhead is something people are studying very carefully. The one thing that may be beneficial is that some companies, when times are difficult, actually feel more of a need to be part of a trade association. Maybe it's because they want someone to commiserate with