Smartphones — and in particular Apple’s iPhone — were the only bright spot in ChangeWave’s November survey of corporate IT spending for the next 90 days, an otherwise dismal forecast that research director Paul Carton described in terms ranging from “huge nose dive” to “historic collapse.”
Asked whether they planned to spend more, the same, or less on information technology in the next quarter, the 1,926 respondents came back with answers that were almost universally pessimistic. Only one in 10 said he or she planned to spend more, while 45% said they expected to spend less — this at the time of the year when planned outlays for IT usually take an uptick.
“We keep looking for a break in the gloom,” Carton told reporters in a conference call Thursday. “We’re just not getting it yet.”
The only positive sign Carton could find was continued growth — albeit modest — in plans for smartphone spending, with 35% of respondents reporting their company plans to buy smartphones next quarter, up 1 point from August.
As shown in the chart below, Research in Motion (RIMM) is still clinging to its nearly 80% share of planned smartphone purchases. But Apple’s (AAPL) slice of that market continues to grow, especially among small-to-medium sized firms, with 22% of companies planning to buy iPhones in the next quarter, up from 17% three months ago.
According to ChangeWave, the iPhone is now the No. 2 smartphone in the workplace, with a 14% share, as Palm’s (PALM) share continues its downward spiral, falling from 15% of corporate smartphones in August to 11% in November. (See here.)
The iPhone scores even higher in ChangeWave’s surveys of consumers. See for example the July report, in which 56% of consumers surveyed said they wanted an iPhone, compared with 23% who were holding out for a BlackBerry.
ChangeWave’s latest corporate survey was conducted from Nov. 6 to Nov. 12 among ChangeWave Alliance members involved with IT spending in their organization.
From the Changewave Alliance Web site:
ChangeWave runs a proprietary network of 15,000 highly qualified business, technology, and medical professionals referred to as the ChangeWave Alliance. Alliance members are credentialed experts in leading companies of select industries who spend their everyday lives working on the frontline of technological change. (link)