Webinar (PowerPoint Conference Call): Business Opportunities and Distribution Channels in the IT Sector in Spain, Thursday, June 10, 9-10am PST

Spain: A Market of Opportunity

This webinar will provide attendees with specific and focused counseling on IT market opportunities (hardware-software-services) in Spain. Emilio Arranz, Commercial Specialist at the U.S. Consulate in Barcelona, together with a local Spanish distributor will provide practical, on-the-ground advice on how U.S. businesses can improve their market presence in Spain.

Agenda:

·Opening remarks and a brief description of Spain's best sectors of opportunity, given by U.S. Embassy (Spain) Trade Specialist Emilio Arranz (10 minutes)

·A presentation on the various sectors of opportunity and distribution channels in the IT sector in Spain, given by a local distributor (15 minutes)

·Questions/Answers (20 minutes)

·Wrap-up presentations made by Commercial Specialist Emilio Arranz (5 minutes)

Background:

The Spanish Information Technology (IT) market (including hardware, software and services) represents 5 percent of the total European market and 1.75 percent of Spain’s GDP. Although expansion in Spain’s overall IT sector was nearly flat for 2002, in 2003 and the first quarter estimate for 2004 showed positive growth trends again (2.8 % and 5.4 % respectively). The Spanish IT industry holds significant opportunities for U.S. companies. Sixty percent of the hardware market and 50 percent of the software products are imported. Computer hardware represents 45 percent of the whole IT market in Spain. The leaders of the market are U.S. firms (HP, Dell and IBM), but 25 percent of the computers installed in Spain are locally assembled. Regarding software, the Spanish market for software is estimated at USD 2.3 billion in 2002, an 11 percent increase over 2001 and 14 percent of the total Spanish IT market, of which systems software represents 60 percent of the market. Best prospects in hardware and peripherals are found in servers and portable equipment for small and medium enterprises (SME), new requirements for e-commerce, software for business integration and consulting and implementation services. The software segment of IT also offers good opportunities for U.S. firms. In system software the best prospects are found in software for databases, operative systems, and software for communications. While in applications, multimedia software and vertical applications show the best potential.

Questions? Please call Jenny Chang at 408-271-7300 x102 or jenny.chang@mail.doc.gov.