San Francisco-based research and consutling firm Killen & Associates predicts the global information technology (IT) market will increase from $1.3 trillion to $2.0 trillion by 2000, an 11% compound annual growth rate between now and the end of the century. Across geographical markets, the highest growth rates will be in the emerging technology markets of Middle East/Africa (16%), but growth will still remain in the 10% to 12% range in such key economies as the US, UK, France and Germany. However, the firm also notes that the growth rate in Japan is unlikely to break out of the single digit range, due mainly to the looming banking crisis and other structural economic pressures. On another down note, Killen & Associates says that growth rate in Europe could be even higher if it were not for the high unemployment rates there which it claims are constraining IT growth.
