The document is a report on the CompTIA IT Industry Business Confidence Index for Q3 2017. It finds that the index increased 3.2 points to 67.4, with increases in all three of its components: the US economy rating, IT industry rating, and companies' self-assessment ratings. Executives expect further increases in the next two quarters. Analysis by company size finds micro firms have a slightly more bearish view of their own prospects. Most firms report being on target or ahead of revenue goals through Q3 2017. The top concern is customers tightening budgets, while concerns over labor costs and skills availability jumped the most year-over-year.

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46.0
51.0
56.0
61.0
66.0
71.0
Q3 '09
Q4 '09
Q1 '10
Q2 '10
Q3 '10
Q4 '10
Q1 '11
Q2 '11
Q3 '11
Q4 '11
Q1 '12
Q2 '12
Q3 '12
Q4 '12
Q1 '13
Q2 '13
Q3 '13
Q4 '13
Q1 '14
Q2 '14
Q3 '14
Q4 '14
Q1 '15
Q2 '15
Q3 '15
Q4 '15
Q1 '16
Q2 '16
Q3 '16
Q4 '16
Q1 '17
Q2 '17
Q3 '17
Forecast
Overall BCI RatingExecutive Summary
46.0
51.0
56.0
61.0
66.0
71.0
Q4
'15
Q1
'16
Q2
'16
Q3
'16
Q4
'16
Q1
'17
Q2
'17
Q3
'17
Q4
'15
Q1
'16
Q2
'16
Q3
'16
Q4
'16
Q1
'17
Q2
'17
Q3
'17
Q4
'15
Q1
'16
Q2
'16
Q3
'16
Q4
'16
Q1
'17
Q2
'17
Q3
'17
BCI Component Ratings
U.S. Economy
Rating
IT Industry
Rating
Self-assessment:
Own Company
Rating
Aggregation of 3 ratings on a 100-point scale
CompTIA IT Industry Business Confidence Index
Q3 2017
CompTIA’s IT Industry Business Confidence Index (BCI)
increased 3.2 points to 67.4 on a 100-point scale. All
three components of the Index showed increases. The
increase during the third quarter reverses a trend seen
from the inception of the CompTIA IT Industry
Business Confidence Index – historically the index has
been negative for every Q3 reading.
Looking ahead over the next two quarters, IT industry
executives expect the momentum to continue, with
further increases to the BCI.
Analysis of the data by company size reveals that
micro-size IT firms – those with fewer than 10
employees, report having a slightly more bearish view
of their own prospects. This may stem from the
smallest of companies being most sensitive to
fluctuations in the economy or their customer base.
A strong majority of IT firms (77 percent) report being
on-target or tracking ahead of revenue goals through
Q3, which certainly factors into the positive business
sentiment. While fifty-eight percent of micro-size IT
firms report being on-track or ahead of their sales
goals for the year, a sizable number (42 percent)
indicate they are lagging their revenue targets through
Q3.
20%
57%
23%
Tracking ahead of goals
On-target
Lagging behind goals
Revenue Tracking YTD

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22%
67%
11%
Tracking ahead of goals
On-target
Lagging behind goals
20% 63%
18%
Tracking ahead of goals
On-target
Lagging behind goals 17%
17%
31%
32%
34%
35%
39%
43%
49%
Despite the lofty heights of the CompTIA Index, IT industry
executives do have a number of concerns over factors that
could inhibit growth prospects. As always, fear of
customers tightening the purse strings tops the list. This is
especially concerning for micro and small tech businesses
(those with less than 100 employees), who often have a
concentrated customer base and can be significantly
affected by the loss of just a couple of accounts.
Concerns over labors costs and the availability of skilled
workers jumped the most, increasing 13 percentage
points year-over-year. With an unemployment rate for IT
occupations hovering around 2 percent, and demand for
tech talent growing across every industry sector in the
U.S. economy, the inability to find workers is a serious
threat to growth. As covered in CompTIA’s Assessing the IT
Skills Gap study, organizations increasingly recognize the
need to rethink their strategies for building the tech
pipeline.
Interestingly, concern over an unexpected shock
decreased year-over-year; it fell from the third most
concerning factor to fifth. Unfortunately, when markets
and businesses feel the odds of the unexpected are low is
the time when the unexpected can be most disruptive.
Rating of Growth Inhibitor Concerns
Key Economic Metrics
v According to an ‘advance’ estimate from the Bureau
of Economic Analysis real gross domestic product
increased an an annual rate of 2.6 percent in the
second quarter of the year. In Q1, real GDP increased
1.2 percent.
v The national unemployment rate for July stood at 4.3
percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The unemployment rate for IT occupations was 2.1
percent. CompTIA’s monthly IT Employment Tracker
notes that the IT sector added an estimated 9,600
new jobs in July.
v The National Federation of Independent Business
index of Small Business Optimism rose 1.6 percentage
points to 105.2 in July from 103.6 in June.
v The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index,
which declined marginally in June, improved in July.
The Index now stands at 121.1 (1985=100), up from
117.3 in June.
Price sensitive customers hesitant to spend
Labor costs / availability of skilled workers
IT industry squeezed by decreasing margins
Government regulation / gridlock / regulatory uncertainty
Unexpected shock (e.g. new financial crisis, terrorist attack, etc.)
Competition from new firms entering space
Disruptive technologies or business models
Access to credit / capital
Currency fluctuations / strong Dollar
2016 Revenue Goal Self-Assessment
Micro Firms
16%
42%
42%
Tracking ahead of goals
On-target
Lagging behind goals
25%
54%
22%
Tracking ahead of goals
On-target
Lagging behind goals
Small Firms
Medium Firms Large Firms

3. Copyright (c) 2017 CompTIA Properties, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
About CompTIA
CompTIA is the voice of the world’s
information technology (IT) industry and
workforce.
Its members are the companies at the
forefront of innovation; and the professionals
responsible for maximizing the benefits
organizations receive from their investments in
technology.
CompTIA is dedicated to advancing industry
growth through educational programs, market
research, networking events, professional
certifications, and public policy advocacy.
For more information visit CompTIA.org, or via
SlideShare, Twitter or LinkedIn.
Research Methodology
This quantitative study consisted of an online survey
fielded to IT industry executives and professionals
during late July 2017. The data can be used a
directional barometer of the IT channel.
CompTIA’s IT Industry Business Confidence Index is
published at the beginning of each quarter. A total
of 314 U.S. IT companies participated in the survey,
yielding an overall margin of sampling error at 95%
confidence of +/- 5.6 percentage points. Sampling
error is larger for subgroups of the data.
As with any survey, sampling error is only one
source of possible error. While non-sampling error
cannot be accurately calculated, precautionary
steps were taken in all phases of the survey design,
collection and processing of the data to minimize its
influence.
CompTIA is a member of the Market Research
Association and abides by its guidelines for survey
best practices and research ethics.
CompTIA is responsible for all content contained in
this report. Any questions regarding the study
should be directed to CompTIA Research and staff
at research@comptia.org.
Firm Size
Survey Demographics
27% IT solutions provider
15% Software vendor, developer, ISV, SaaS provider
13% IT or business consulting
11% IT support or repair services
8% Telecom or communications services
6% Managed services provider
5% Systems/network integrator
4% Hardware vendor, manufacturer or developer
4% Reseller/VAR
1% Cloud service provider
6% Other type of IT industry firm
Firm Type
24% Micro firm (less than 10 employees)
22% Small firm (10 to 99 employees)
23% Medium firm (100 to 499 employees)
31% Large firm (500 or more employees)
14% Executive Mgt. (CEO, President, Owner, etc.)
13% Senior Mgt. – IT function (CIO, CSO, VP, etc.)
7% Senior Mgt. – Business function (CFO, VP, etc.)
27%
Middle Mgt. – IT function (Director, Mgr,
Team Leader etc.)
18%
Middle Mgt. – Business (Director, Mgr,
Team Leader etc.)
2% Staff level – IT function
2% Staff level – Business function
13% IT Consultant
3% Business Consultant
Job Role