State and Local Procurement Activity Expected to Stay Level or Increase
SEATTLE, March 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Despite a slowing economy and projected local budget shortfalls, 80 percent of purchasing officials plan to maintain or increase government spending activity in the year ahead compared to 2007, reports a new survey from Onvia (NASDAQ:ONVI), a leading provider of comprehensive market intelligence.
The 2008 Onvia Government Procurement Outlook, available at http://www.onvia.com/, summarizes the findings of a January, 2008 survey of 1,400 purchasing officials at state, local and educational entities.
"Our findings are good news for many businesses selling to the government," said Michael Balsam, vice president of products and services at Onvia. "Government spending for infrastructure should continue to help compensate for the residential construction downturn. Based on our research, the other big opportunities for 2008 will be for information technology vendors and companies selling to the educational sector." "Overall, it is a very impressive report," said Rick Grimm, CEO of National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, Inc. (NIGP). "It does a great job of looking at the diversification of the various sectors - both by geography and by agency type." NIGP is a nonprofit providing education and technical assistance to public purchasing agencies.
Highlights from the Onvia Government Procurement Outlook include: -- 43 percent of buyers surveyed project an increase in government
spending activity across 2008. -- 37 percent of buyers surveyed expect levels to remain the same as
2007. -- Government infrastructure and construction procurement will grow, which
will benefit businesses such as architects, engineers, and companies
providing building products and construction services. Overall, 41
percent of agencies plan to increase spending activity on
infrastructure in 2008 and 38 percent plan to maintain current spending
activity levels. -- IT procurement continues to accelerate, in keeping with modernization
plans and security and privacy initiatives. According to survey
respondents, 82 percent of agencies will increase or maintain IT
procurement activity for hardware and for telecommunications; 83
percent will increase or maintain IT procurement for software and
services. -- School districts responding to the survey are preparing for the largest
year-over-year government spending activity increase compared to other
segments, while municipal governments facing revenue shortfalls say
they will spend more cautiously than other segments. -- The South Central U.S. region anticipates the most growth in government
spending activity, while New England expects more moderate growth
rates.
About Onvia
Onvia (NASDAQ:ONVI) helps businesses achieve a competitive advantage by delivering timely and actionable sales opportunities and information. More than 8,500 subscribers across the United States rely on Onvia as a comprehensive resource for industry-specific information needed to make intelligent sales decisions. Onvia offers unparalleled coverage of government purchasing activity in addition to commercial and residential projects in development for markets such as architecture and engineering, IT/telecom, business consulting services, operations and maintenance, and transportation. Onvia was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. DATASOURCE: Onvia CONTACT: Patricia Clem of Onvia, Seattle, +1-206-373-9415, , for Onvia Web site: http://www.onvia.com/
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