The IT industry in Florida is expected to experience a
"significant financial impact" following the launch of Windows
Vista, according to new IDC research commissioned by Microsoft.
IDC predicts that Florida's IT industry will see considerable
increases in new jobs and revenue within the first year of the
Vista launch.
The study indicated that Vista will provide a "foundation" for the
IT market, and that more than 18 per cent of total IT employment in
Florida will be related to Vista.
In addition, total Windows-related employment in Florida is
expected to jump by more than 11,000 new jobs.
"Vista will create additional revenues for Microsoft in Florida,
but will create even bigger economic ripples throughout the
ecosystem that sells products and services that run on or work with
the operating system," said John Gantz, chief research officer and
senior vice president at IDC.
"Vista's footprint in the state will be wide, as original equipment
manufacturers sell PCs that run on it, software companies sell
applications that run on it, and services and distribution firms
deliver, install, support and train on it.
"We expect that, in the first year of Vista shipments, this
ecosystem will sell more than $4bn of Vista-related products and
services in Florida."
The companies that sell hardware, write software, provide IT
services or serve as IT distribution channels will also feel the
impact of Vista because it will drive substantial revenue and
growth for Microsoft-centric companies, the study found.