Tech execs confident about Q3, 2017 prospects

Technology executives and business owners are confident about the third quarter and fourth quarter demand and revenue targets, according to CompTIA.
The CompTIA IT Industry Business Confidence Index increased 3.2 points to 67.4 on a 100 point scale. CompTIA noted that the third quarter confidence index was higher than the second quarter's for the first time since the index launched in 2009.
CompTIA's confidence index is based on a survey of 314 technology companies. The majority of these tech firms noted that they are on target or ahead of their revenue goals for 2017.
In addition, executive confidence in the IT industry rose to 70.6 for the third quarter, up from 66.7 in the second quarter. Executives were also more confident in their own companies with confidence in the third quarter rising to 69.1 from 65.9 in the second quarter.
Part of the confidence is based on quarterly results where tech companies have delivered better-than-expected financials. For instance, VMware raised it outlook and other giants such as Intel performed well.
There are some caveats to the technology executive optimism. CompTIA's survey noted that tech executives are worried that customers may postpone spending and labor costs will increase.
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