Industry Introduction and History
SAIC is a significant player in today’s Information Technology industry. The IT industry is involved with the use of electronic computers and computer software to convert, store, protect, process, transmit, and securely retrieve information. Since the introduction of PCs in 1980, this industry has experienced rapid growth and demand.
The need for the Information Technology industry came with the introduction of the PC in 1980 and the explosion of its growth in the 1990’s. In 1991, the Eastern Europe, Middle East, Latin America, and Rest of Asia regions were small enough to be grouped as Rest of World. As we approached 2000, these regions have drastically increased their share of the world IT market. Asia (without Japan) and Latin America grew 19% and 18%, respectively, from 1995 to 2000. The Middle East and Eastern Europe grew 14% and 13%, respectively, for the same time period. Today, the growth forecast for our industry is expected to be 8% throughout 2008 with a slight decrease to about 5% from 2009 until 2012 .
Presently, the Information Technology industry includes over 35,000 companies generating over $150 billion in annual revenue . These IT companies mainly provide consulting, data processing, technology outsourcing, and systems integration to business customers. IT consulting firms help clients use computers, software, and communications systems more efficiently than they could on their own. These companies also frequently recommend software and hardware systems to their customers that they believe would benefit them greatly. About 60% of industry revenue comes from consulting and systems integration services. ...