OnForce Launches First Benchmark for IT Services Industry

BOSTON, Oct. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, OnForce, the #1 source for on-site tech talent in the cloud, launched the IT field service industry's first quarterly benchmark – The OnForce IT Field Services Confidence Index – which shows that entrepreneurs in IT field services are pessimistic about the current economic situation. In fact, just over 51 percent of IT field service professionals surveyed said that reduced business spending and fewer IT service job opportunities have had a negative impact on their bottom line.

"These small businesses are on the front lines of the IT industry and are a great indicator of what's really happening in IT," said Peter Cannone, CEO of OnForce. "This new index adds a clear, quantitative measure that will give the industry a way to move beyond broad generalizations and anecdotes."  

While IT field service professionals, in general, are pessimistic about the economy today, nearly 25 percent of those surveyed have actually seen an increase in business during these tough times.  Networking service professionals, in particular, seem to be faring well; 63 percent of those surveyed who specialize in networking said that downturns in the economy have either increased business or have had no impact at all.

"Talented IT entrepreneurs in networking are always in demand – especially if they carry vendor certifications like Cisco's CCNA," said Cannone. "Keeping current with the latest skills is essential.  Whether it's networking, Apple, VoIP, or mobile, having in-demand skills will maximize a service professional's chances for business success no matter what the economic realities."

Networking service professionals aren't the only ones with an optimistic outlook. Many of the IT service professionals surveyed think that economic improvements will result in new IT service job opportunities in the near future. In fact, 73 percent of those surveyed expect businesses to use more contractors and fewer full-time employees for IT work in the next six months. Less than 10 percent expect to see increased hiring.

Other interesting findings include:

• Networking and cloud computing services ranked number one among IT service professionals surveyed on where they expect to see increased demand in the next six months – which aligns them with service business owners surveyed by OnForce in August.  
• Interestingly, mobile device services ranked second highest for IT service professionals – where service businesses expect to see greater interest in security services.  
• Networking services professionals have the most positive outlook for the next six months, with more than 36 percent expecting to see increased opportunities.

About The OnForce IT Field Services Confidence Index

The OnForce IT Field Services Confidence Index is modeled after the Consumer Confidence Index® and designed to measure market perception among IT field services entrepreneurs. The Index reflects the opinions of entrepreneurs in IT field services with revenue of at least $10,000 and fewer than 100 employees, and is based on a 0-100 scale, where a ranking above 50 indicates market optimism and below 50 indicates market pessimism.

The Q4 Current Index came in at 37 reflecting negativity about the impact of the current economic situation on IT Field Services businesses. Individual consultants with no employees show more optimism at 44.

The Q4 Future Index looks at the expected economic impact on businesses in the next six months.  The Q4 Future Index is 52 showing that small businesses in IT field services expect the economic environment to improve in 2012.

To learn more about OnForce, please visit http://www.onforce.com.

About OnForce

OnForce is the #1 source for on-site tech talent in field services in the cloud. By partnering with OnForce, service buyers can connect with thousands of highly skilled service professionals to fulfill on-site work throughout the US and Canada. With more than 1.5 million service events completed, OnForce is a proven and trusted solution. Service buyers can gain extensive geographic coverage, lower service costs, extend skill-sets, and generate new streams of revenue on demand. The company supports more than 20 IT and CE categories, such as computers, printers, networking, VoIP, Point of Sale, and more. OnForce is the partner in service. For additional information, please visit www.onforce.com.

SOURCE OnForce