Poll: Government IT buyers go to the source

A majority of government information technology decision-makers say manufacturers are better than resellers and integrators at providing innovative solutions and quality products and services, according to the new 2006 Federal IT Marketing Report, issued by Market Connections, a marketing research firm based in Fairfax, Va.

“Our data shows the vendor community is getting a ‘C’ grade from the market,” said Market Connections president Lisa Dezzutti.

According to the poll of 500 federal IT decision-makers, government IT professionals are turning increasingly to the Web for information they used to get from sales representatives and trade shows. Information is much more readily accessible on the Web and travel budgets are being squeezed, so federal decision-makers are much more selective about the events they attend, Dezzutti said.

The report also indicated that a far smaller number of IT decision-makers go to trade shows than in the recent past. Seventy percent of those interviewed in 2003 attended at least one trade show that year. This time, only 39 percent of respondents said they had attended a trade show within the past year.