According to EITO, the European Information Technology Observatory, the Spanish computer sector will grow by more than 5% in 1993. In terms of business volume, Spain is now the sixth most important European market for information technology, and between 1990 and 1992 only two other countries in Europe showed a higher growth rate. It is calculated that the Spanish market will reach $7,354m in 1993, EITO predicts that between 1992 and 1994 the market will grow 7.4%; hardware will grow 5.5%, communications hardware 5.3%, software 12.2% and services 12.1%. Only large systems and professional personal computers will show a decline – of around 1% in each case. Between 1992 and 1994 the market for workstations will grow by 46%. EITO comments that in 1992 Spain’s software and services sector was held back by restrictive telecommunications, regulations, low levels of investment in research and development, underdeveloped distribution channels, and pirating of software. EITO sees good potential for growth here, although the effects of cuts in government spending will be noted in the short term. The report also points out the prevalence of small and medium-sized companies in the Spanish business world, since very few companies in Iberia appear to be in the market for large mainframes.
