Channel buoyed by IT upturn following IPOs
Research shows that the US initial public offering market has been buoyed by IT firms
UK resellers have cited the recent surge in technology initial public offerings (IPOs) as definitive evidence the IT market has finally turned the corner.
The US IPO market has just experienced its busiest six-month period for six years, with the best performing IPOs coming from the IT sector, according to IPO research firm Renaissance Capital.
Twenty-one of the 115 firms that took the plunge across the pond were IT firms. Since the end of June, ERP vendor NetSuite, storage outfit Compellent and monitor vendor ViewSonic have also announced their intentions to float and IP telephony vendor ShoreTel recently completed its listing on the Nasdaq.
Scott Fletcher, chief executive at reseller ANS, which is preparing to float its single sign-on subsidiary Smart ID, argued the UK market is equally buoyant.
“The technology market has been in the doldrums for the past five years and now that we’re turning the corner it’s a good time to float,” he said.
Fletcher added that there has been “good interest” in its Smart ID flotation. “I get the feeling that people are starting to look at technology stock again,” he said.
Tom Perry, head of marketing at VAR Freedom, said: “The sector is far more buoyant than before and far more people are willing to float. But we’re not looking at an IPO ourselves because of the associated lack of control that goes with it.”
Roger Hockaday, director of marketing for EMEA at wireless vendor Aruba Networks, the fourth best-performing US IPO this year, said: “We are coming to a point where there is clearly a refresh in the enterprise and people are looking for new ways to do things.
“Although technology budgets have not returned to 1999-2000 levels, people are able to deploy technology where they can make a business case.”