Pulse: Upgrades On The Horizon

For the most part, customers are building with caution and imposing tough demands on their solution providers to receive the best dollar value for their investments, which include Linux server deployments, security, server virtualization, software economics, business-technology optimization and outsourcing.

Companies are also expected to invest heavily in new PCs and laptops by the end of the fourth quarter 2004, according to the Yankee Group/Sunbelt poll. VARBusiness' own findings concur. According to our 2004 State of Midmarket Spending survey, on average, companies with 100 to 249 employees will upgrade one-third (33 percent) of their existing PCs (desktops, laptops and notebooks) in 2004, or at least make plans to upgrade these systems during the next 12 months. For companies with 250 to 499 employees, the number is slightly lower, with 30 percent having upgrades in the mix, followed by 27 percent of 500 to 999-person companies.