Ballmer: Better Safe Than Lehman Bros.
With the current financial distress in the states quickly spreading to other industries, it’s inevitable that it will effect the software industry as well. The worsening U.S. economic situation has already inspired Forrester Research to lower its expectations for U.S. and global IT spending in 2008.
No surprise, then, to hear Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer lowering his expectations as well. Given the volume of software purchased by enterprise, “it would be reasonable to expect there will be consequences,” Ballmer told Bloomberg Thursday. “Nobody knows exactly what’s going to happen. … [But] it would be really imprudent for anybody to not have that in mind.”
Later in the day, however, Ballmer seemed a bit more optimistic. “Our industry is not immune to what goes on in the global economy,” he said. “And yet as I travel … given the current circumstances, people still see a certain buoyancy in the market. At least, for now, people are feeling, I won’t say optimistic, but better than you would be feeling if you are watching CNBC all day.”
Yeah, especially if you were watching CNBC Thursday night …
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