Technology Sector Industry Profile

The technology sector in the US includes about 145,000 companies with combined annual revenue of more than $1 trillion. Major companies include AT&T, IBM, Intel, and Microsoft. Industry concentration is high in many segments: the largest 50 participants often generate more than 50 percent of segment revenue.

The technology sector includes telecommunications, IT services, semiconductor manufacturing, software, Internet services, biotechnology, and scientific research, including aerospace research.

Global technology exports total nearly $2 trillion annually, according to the World Bank. Leading exporters include China ($350 billion), Germany ($140 billion), the US ($140 billion), South Korea ($103 billion), and Japan ($99 billion). Despite continued economic turmoil, global IT spending was expected to grow 7.1 percent in 2011 and 8.7 percent in 2012, according to Forrester Research. Leading technology companies based outside the US include Japanese telecom firm Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, South Korean semiconductor manufacturer Samsung Group, and German process-control instrument maker Siemens.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand often depends on the income of consumers or the profitability of business customers, because many technology products and services are expensive. The profitability of individual companies is driven by their ability to develop and market new products. Large companies often have advantages in access to capital and marketing. Small companies can compete successfully if they have expertise in a particular field of knowledge. The industry is capital-intensive: average annual revenue per worker is more than $300,000.