Survey Finds IT Demand Is Rebounding

In a hopeful indicator of continuing recovery, demand in the information technology sector has finally returned to pre-Sept. 11 levels and is now slowly climbing higher, according to a widely used survey of 1,600 companies released Thursday.

The survey by Emeryville, Calif.-based Techtel, which has been conducting quarterly IT studies since 1984, measures both IT purchases by companies as well their consideration of future purchases.

"Our data indicates that, as a whole, the IT market is stable and should continue to improve, barring another major shock to the system," said Michael Kelly, chairman of Techtel, referring to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

But don't get too excited yet. The study breaks down purchases into two categories -- large IT purchases and general business purchases, which cover such items as printers and PCs. The survey found when separated out, enterprise IT purchases didn't quite reach the pre-Sept. 11 second-quarter levels. ...