Debunking many of today’s myths about the future prospects and growth of information technology, this book uses a variety of well-accepted economic, technological, and market data to come to the contrary conclusion that IT is poised to shrink and not grow. Discussed is how this conclusion does not imply that companies will slow their use of technology but rather all aspects will become much less expensive, thus halting traditional growth patterns. The argument is made that over the next three to five years, the same price performance gains that have been seen in the hardware area will be seen in software, external services, and labor spending. Outlined are the factors causing this change, which include open source software, Microsoft, offshore labor and services, new software tools to better manage IT assets, and the Internet. The book also argues that buyers of technology have become much savvier about its use and will be spending less overall to get more from their investments. With these changes in mind, survival strategies for buyers and sellers of technology to help them prepare for this long-term change in growth are prescribed.

About the Author
Erik Keller is a principal of Wapiti LLC, a private consulting firm. He has consulted for more than 40 software companies and venture capital firms and was the vice president, director of research, and research fellow at Gartner, Inc., where he managed the enterprise software application group. He has been a technical journalist and worked for Davis Publications, McGraw-Hill, Hayden Publishing, and CMP Publications and is currently a columnist for MSI magazine. He lives in Ridgefield, Connecticut.