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BRISBANE - A leading Asia-Pacific business analyst has joined the call for more US technology companies to look towards international market growth to beat the current slowdown in domestic IT & telecom spending.

According to Mark White, Managing Director of Apviva Technology Partners, a technology market consultancy, "most emerging and medium-sized US technology companies are missing opportunities to broaden their customer base in expanding Asia-Pacific markets" like Australia, Singapore, China and Korea.

"While giants like Intel are seeing the Asia-Pacific markets make a substantial and increasing contribution to overall revenues," he said, "opportunities are also opening for emerging technology companies to grow revenues through exports," White said. 

"Competition and growth in these markets is forcing regional solution providers and integrators to actively seek out new IT products."

Surprisingly, few US companies appear interested leveraging these growth opportunities, White said.

"We believe that fewer than 10% of US technology firms attempt credible export initiatives in their first three years of operation," adds White.

According to White, while US companies could achieve greater profits by selling into foreign markets, they might miss the opportunity through inertia. 

"Most of the world economies see US firms as leading IT innovators, and are willing to purchase and deploy their products and services," he said. "But the next generation of technology giants must emerge from the slowdown with a broad customer base, efficient operations, and global market potential."

Companies "who wait for better times in the US before taking a global view risk being left behind," he said.

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