If the results of Intel, Yahoo and Apple are any indication, the long-awaited recovery in the technology sector seems well under way. WSJ writes that “All three are riding different currents in a rising tide. Intel, for example, is being carried along by the strength of PC sales; unit sales rose 11.4% in 2003 to top 2000’s all-time peak, market watcher IDC said. Demand for more-profitable notebook machines rose at a faster pace of 23.9%, estimates market watcher iSuppli Corp. Yahoo, rebounding from the extended Web slump, is experiencing a significant recovery in advertising revenue. Apple, meanwhile, is becoming as well-known for its iPod music player as for its Macintosh system.” How widespread and broad the recovery is will only be known as more companies report results. What is also clear, according to the article, is the changing landscape since 2002:
Globalization: Demand from emerging economies — including Eastern Europe as well as Asia — has become a dominant driver for both hardware sales and a source of low-cost manufacturing.
Consumer power: Sales are surging for products such as big-screen TVs, DVD recorders and digital cameras.
Internet: Despite many unfulfilled expectations, companies have found new, efficient ways to make the Web pay off.
Business confidence: Some companies that have held off major projects to upgrade their computing infrastructures have decided they can wait no longer. Among the first signs is purchasing systems to cope with the flood of computerized customer records and other data.
