Wisconsin technology executives who responded to the most recent WisBusiness.com Tech Leaders Survey expressed considerably more optimism about the state’s economy than those a year ago.

 

While 68 percent of respondents rated the state’s economy as only fair, there was a seven percentage-point increase from a year ago in the number of respondents who said the state’s economy is in good condition and a five percentage-point decrease in those who said it was poor.  Eighteen percent of survey respondents believe the state’s economy is good, compared to 11 percent a year ago.

 

There was a 15 percentage-point increase from a year ago in survey respondents who said the condition of Wisconsin’s economy will get better during the next 12 months. Sixty percent of industry executives who responded to the most recent Tech Leaders Survey believe the state’s economy will get better during the next year, compared to 44 percent a year ago.

 

“The tech executives who responded to the most recent Tech Leaders Survey expressed the most optimism about Wisconsin’s economic recovery that we’ve seen in more than a year,” said Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. “What is even more encouraging is the dramatic increase in the number of tech industry leaders who believe the state’s economy will get better between now and the end of the year. Perceptions about the condition of the executive’s industry and the prospects for their company also improved. If all of these key business measures continue to improve, it bodes very well for the growth of Wisconsin’s technology sector.”

 

Industry condition

Nearly 41 percent of executives who responded to the most recent Tech Leaders Survey rate the condition of their industry as good, a 10 percentage-point increase from a year ago. Five percent rate the condition of their industry as poor, a five percentage-point decline from the same period of last year. Fifty-four percent rated the state of their industry as only fair.

 

Fifty-five percent of survey respondents said the condition of their industry will get better during the next 12 months, a 13 percentage-point increase from a year ago. Forty-one percent of those who responded believe the condition of their industry will stay the same during the next year, a decrease of more than 11 percentage points from the same period of last year.

 

Prospects for own company

Forty-seven percent of those tech industry executives who responded to the most recent Tech Leaders Survey rate the prospects for their own company as good, a four percentage-point dip from a year ago. But 26 percent of survey respondents said the prospects for their own company is excellent, a seven percentage-point increase from a year ago. Twenty-two percent of respondents rated the prospects for their company as only fair.

 

The expectations of survey respondents about whether the prospects for their company will get better, stay the same or get worse during the next 12 months was unchanged from a year ago. Seventy-two percent of those who responded to the survey believe the prospects for their company will get better during the next year.

 

Availability of capital

Technology industry leader perceptions about the availability of capital improved markedly from a year ago. While roughly a third of survey respondents still rank capital availability as poor, the number of respondents gave that ranking declined more than 10 percentage points during the past 12 months. Almost 41 percent of those who responded to the survey believe the availability of capital is only fair, an increase of seven percentage points from a year ago. The percentage of those ranking capital availability as good (19 percent) or excellent (5½ percent) were largely unchanged from 12 months ago.

 

Seventy-two percent of survey respondents said the availability of capital would stay the same during the next 12 months, an increase of nine percentage points. Only 5½ percent believe capital availability will get worse during the next year, a decline of nearly six percentage points from the same period of last year. Twenty-three percent believe the availability of capital will get better during the next year.

 

About the WisBusiness.com Tech Leaders Survey

The WisBusiness.com Tech Leaders Survey is a quarterly, statewide survey of senior executives in the information technology, biotechnology and medical device, advanced manufacturing, and clean technology and agricultural biotechnology industries. It measures the executives’ ratings on four key business indicators, including the condition of the state’s economy, their industry, their company and the capital markets. The survey is a project of the Wisconsin Technology Council, WisBusiness.com and the Luminis Group, Ltd. The survey questionnaire is administered by e-mail and Web-based survey technology. This quarter’s survey was fielded from Jan. 24-Feb. 21,2011, (n=144, 19½  percent response rate). Respondents represent a geographic, developmental and disciplinary cross-section of the state’s technology industry. The survey is conducted by the Luminis Group, Ltd., Madison, Wis., using generally accepted methodology, including non-biased question wording and order, response category randomization, where appropriate, and uncompensated respondent participation.

 

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