We have published our annual report that presents an estimation of the relative demand capacity for B2B information technology and related services worldwide.  This estimation is called “The BECH Index.”

World demand is moving east.

The Americas have experienced a 12 per cent decline in the period 2014-2019. Although the demand from Central and South America shows an increase in 2019, the decline in demand from North America results in a net loss of 0.4 per cent for the area.

Europe has lost 8 per cent of global demand in the same period and after a slight increase in 2018, the decline continues in 2019. North America and Europe continue to be very interesting areas with some of the biggest markets in the world and because of increasing labour costs and public expenditure, there is a growing need for information analytics, process and cost optimization information technology-based solutions.

The slight decline in the Middle East in 2017 is most likely an impact of the changes in the oil price. Future growth in the Middle East still requires a restructuring of the economies away from the dependency on oil and gas. I am sceptical that they will be successful with such a transformation and predict a continued decrease in the region.

China continues its growth and has consolidated its position as the second largest information technology market in the world. However, the growth here has levelled off and our prediction that China would outgrow the USA as the world largest market will not happen this decade. For 2019 the region even shows a small decline.

The most prominent growth area is India showing a 34 per cent increase in the period 2014-2019 and a 16 per cent increase in 2019.

You can buy the report here: Global Demand is Still Heading East: The BECH Index 2019

The 2018 report is available for free here: Global Demand is Still on the Move: The BECH Index 2018