If you’re looking to get a feel for where industry is likely headed, there are few better people to question than system integrators. After all, these are the people directly impacted by any pickup or slowdown in industrial projects.
A survey conducted by CSIA and JP Morgan in December 2012 sought system integrator input on topics ranging from expanding industries and order activity to growth expectations and project delays.
Survey results showed that CSIA member respondents indicated that the top five industries they plan to expand services into are power & energy, oil & gas, metals and mining, life sciences, and food & beverage. The results here confirm much of the news widely touted over the past couple of years about the surge in activity in energy, oil & gas, and mining. As a consumer staples industry with heavy regulation, constant activity in the food & beverage industry is always consistent, and it’s reasonable to suspect that the growing emphasis on reducing medical care costs—coupled with the move to convert all medical records to electronic form—is behind the surge in the life sciences.
当被问及在过去一年中最活跃的行业时，系统集成商引用了以下领域：汽车，食品和饮料，石油和天然气，电力，电力和能源，化学品和石化。我发现有趣的是，这些前五名行业中的两个（汽车和化学品）不是系统集成商计划在短期内扩展其服务的行业。也许他们正在等待查看这些行业的活动趋势是否像权力，石油和天然气以及食品和饮料一样可持续。
Reflecting on order activity at the end of 2012 versus mid-2012, the news from system integrators was very positive. Though 27 percent of respondents said order activity was weaker, 39% said it was stronger. Plus, 65 percent of respondents say their business grew over the past year versus 22 percent who said their businesses shrank. In fact, twenty-five percent said their businesses grew in excess of 15 percent in the past year.
展望未来，系统集成商在2013年非常看好。七十％的人预计他们的业务在2013年增长，而只有14％的人期望它会减少。支持这一期望的事实是，将近30％的受访者表示他们的项目积压/销售时间比平常更强大。此外，有54％的人说项目延迟是不存在的或典型的。但是，有46％的人看到了比平常更高的放缓，这阐明了一些逐字性陈述作为调查的一部分。
在受访者的逐字评论中，特别是三个引起了我的注意：
“I have not seen delays or canceled projects yet, but feel a slowdown is coming some time next year. Customers are barely keeping old legacy equipment running but are holding back on upgrading due to the uncertainty. Our business outlook is still guarded optimism despite the current headwinds.”
“Due to the European crisis, some system integrators based in those countries have sought projects in our region and are offering projects at prices we can hardly compete with. As a result, we are seriously taking a look at our costs and reusing resources to lower them.”
“… due to the cyber security and control incidents that occurred in the last few years, it looks like manufacturing and critical infrastructure companies are paying more attention to their investment in consulting services to mitigate related IT risks that could impact them.”
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with the outlook provided the system integrators in this survey? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
