Research - Industry Code
| Product Code(s) | IND_STD |
| Level(s) | Standard |
| Monitoring Available | No |
| Interface | REST |
| Method | GET |
| Format(s) | JSON |
| Service | Industry |
| {version} | 3.0 |
| Initial Release | October 3, 2013 |
First Research industry profiles contain critical analysis, statistics and forecasts to help your engage key prospects, coach key clients, and deepen customer relationships.
Update History
No modifications have been made to this data layer since the initial release.
Product Request
IMPORTANT: Due to a known issue, please do not include request values for SubmittingOfficeID.
IMPORTANT: Please see the new Online Services Security Enhancement Release, effective November 09, 2020.
Overview
When requesting this D&B Direct data layer, you will be required to supply a D&B industry code, optional case-sensitive chapter name(s), and the appropriate product code. If this information is not available, refer to the Find Industry Codes feature.
The case-sensitive chapter name values include All, BusinessChallenges, CallPreparationQuestions, ExecutiveInsight, FinancialInformation, GlossaryOfAcronyms, IndustryForecast, IndustryIndicators, IndustryOverview, IndustryWebsites, QuarterlyIndustryUpdate, and TrendsAndOpportunities.
Report Chapters
| Business Challenges | Descriptions of an industry's pain points. Business Challenges can be used to tailor products and services to a prospect or customer's needs. |
| Call Preparation Questions | Industry-specific questions that can be used to engage prospects or clients in meaningful conversations about their business. |
| Executive Insight | Consists of specific talking points relevant to the CEO, CFO, CIO, HR professionals and Sales and Marketing Executives. |
| Financial Information | |
| Glossary of Acronyms | Definitions of the most frequently used industry acronyms. These can be used to speak a prospect's language. |
| Industry Forecast | Provides an indication of the market and how an industry may perform in the next few years. |
| Industry Indicators | Follows statistical drivers for an industry. They are updated monthly with the latest government data. |
| Industry Overview | Consists of several sections: Competitive Landscape; Products, Operations, and Technology; Sales & Marketing; Finance & Regulation; Regional & International Issues; and Human Resources. |
| Industry Websites | Evaluated and handpicked by our industry experts for usefulness. |
| Quarterly Industry Update | Related to the Industry Description and provide a way to keep the information fresh, timely, and relevant. |
| Trends and Opportunities | Trends focus on how events, issues, advances, and emerging directions are affecting businesses in an industry. Opportunities describe the events, issues, advances, and emerging directions in an industry. |
Data Layer Entitlement
For customers in U.S. and Canadian markets, the API is provisioned for specific collections of products, reports, and/or features (collectively referred to as data layers) for production and trial usage. Entitlement is not required for testing in the sandbox environment.
- This product is entitled as "Industry Profile - Standard Search" for D&B Direct 2.0 customers.
For customers in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg markets, the API is provisioned as a specific set of data layers for production, trial, and sandbox usage.
- This particular data layer is NOT included in the D&B Direct Onboard suite.
Specification
Sample Request (IND_STD)
GET https://direct.dnb.com/V3.0/industries/industrycode-1119-25838/IND_STD Authorization: <My Token>
| Name | Characteristics |
|---|---|
| {version} | Attribute |
| ApplicationTransactionID | string up to 64 chars., Optional A number assigned by the calling application to uniquely identify this request. |
| TransactionTimestamp | DateTimestamp, Optional The date and time when this request was created. When the request is from an intermediary, such as a workflow manager or service bus, this is the date and time when the message was sent to the D&B function, i.e., the date and time when the xml document was created by the requesting intermediary. |
| SubmittingOfficeID | string up to 64 chars., Optional A number that identifies the system or the software application from where this request originated. / A number used to uniquely identfy the D&B business segment or delivery channel from where this request originated. |
| {code_type} | Attribute Possible values: 25838 [D&B Hoovers Industry Code] |
| {code_value} | string up to 16 chars., Required An alphanumeric value identifying a business activity based on the scheme specified by the typeText. For instance, 1611 represents the highway and street construction industry in the U.S. SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) system. Clarification Note: These are generally external codes created by an external authoritative body, like the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), but D&B may have created extensions to more precisely define an activity, as in the case of the SIC 2+2 (the last 4 digits of an 8-digit SIC). |
| {state_territory} | string up to 6 chars., Required Code represented in ISO 3166-2 scheme defining the name of a principal subdivision (e.g., province or state) of a country coded in ISO 3166-1; e.g., US-NJ represents the state New Jersey in United States, CA-ON represents the province Ontario in Canada. The first part is the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code of the country; The second part is a string of up to three alphanumeric characters, which is usually obtained from national sources and stems from coding systems already in use in the country concerned, but may also be developed by the ISO itself. Possible values: Supports US & Canada Sates only. Refer ISO_3166-1 Table for . |
| {productID} | string, Optional An alphanumeric string that uniquely identifies the product being requested. Possible values: CAL_PREP_QSTN; IND_RSH; IND_RSH_TERTY |
| LanguagePreferenceCode | integer up to 7 digits., Optional A D&B code value that defines the language in which the customer wants this product to be rendered. |
| ProfileChapterName-n | IndustryChapterNameEnum, Optional (Infinite) Name identifying the major division of the business activity profile information. Possible values: IndustryOverview; QuarterlyIndustryUpdate; BusinessChallenges; TrendsAndOpportunities; ExecutiveInsight; CallPreparationQuestions; FinancialInformation; IndustryForecast; IndustryWebsites; GlossaryOfAcronyms; IndustryIndicators; All |
| ArchiveProductOptOutIndicator | boolean, Optional When true (set to 1), it indicates that the product being ordered is not to be stored. When false (set to 0), it indicates that the product being ordered is to be stored; however as this is the assumed condition there is no requirement to create this tag to represent this fact. |
| ExtendArchivePeriodIndicator | boolean, Optional When true (set to 1), the duration to archive the data is to be extended. Note: There is an additional cost for extending the archival period of the data purchased. When false (set to 0), the duration to archive the data is not to be extended. |
| PortfolioAssetContainerID | long, Optional A number used to uniquely identify the location where this product is to be stored. |
| CustomerReferenceText-n | string, up to 240 chars, Optional (up to 5x) A freeform reference string provided by the customer to be linked to the product in order to support subsequent order reconciliation. |
| CustomerBillingEndorsementText | string at least 1 chars. up to 240 chars., Optional Text that is filled in by customer and commonly contains requesting individual or department name, or customer's own account/reference number and/or name for the case on which the product was provided.This text is a reference used during the billing process. |
Endpoint
Use the following endpoint for requesting this product. The {version} is dependent on the underlying service delivering the product.
| REST (Industry) |
|---|
| GET https://direct.dnb.com/V{version}/industries/industrycode-{code_value}-{code_type}/{productID} |
Testing
The following parameters may be used for D&B Direct 2.0 developer sandbox requests to retrieve successful responses. The data returned from sandbox requests may not represent actual values that this feature will deliver.
| Product | Test Parameter(s) |
|---|---|
| Research - Industry Code | Industry code:1958 |
| Research - State/Province | ISOCountrySubDivisionCode:US-NJ |
Product Response
While data for a particular company may not contain values for each of the business elements, there may be items that are considered by D&B to be "essential" to yield the maximum benefit of a data layer. If any of these essential elements do not contain a value for a particular company, a PD005 response code will be returned, and your organization will not incur a usage credit for the request.
For all codified data delivered by D&B Direct, the response package will include the decoded text value as a data element with the code value attached as an attribute. Refer to the Reference Data Service for access to the D&B standard code tables.
NOTE: The D&B Direct REST implementation uses the BadgerFish approach for JSON with some minor variations.
Specification
The following is a list of the possible data fields returned by this operation in the JSON response. Samples are provided for testing successful and failed retrieval, and to demonstrate the basic layout of a response. The data returned in samples may not represent actual values that this feature will deliver.
NOTE: The D-U-N-S Number returned in the response will be a nine-digit zero-padded, numeric value.
Sample Response (IND_STD)
{"OrderProductResponse": {
"TransactionDetail": {
"ApplicationTransactionID": "Id-061019ac51a6073d4ddb742e-1",
"ServiceTransactionID": "4ca53589-a70f-4600-8680-5f19f311b35a",
"TransactionTimestamp": "2013-05-29T09:48:47.972-04:00"
},
"TransactionResult": {
"SeverityText": "Information",
"ResultID": "CM000",
"ResultText": "Success"
},
"OrderProductResponseDetail": {
"InquiryDetail": {"IndustryCode": {
"@DNBCodeValue": 25838,
"IndustryCode": "1119"
}},
"Product": {
"DNBProductID": "IND_STD",
"IndustryProfile": {"IndustryProfileDetail": [ {
"IndustryCode": [
{
"@DNBCodeValue": 25838,
"@TypeText": "D&B Hoovers Industry Code",
"IndustryCode": "1119",
"IndustryCodeDescription": [ {
"@IndustryCodeDescriptionLengthCode": 9120,
"$": "Information Technology Services"
}],
"IndustryExplanationText": "The US information technology (IT) services industry includes about 100,000 companies with combined annual revenue of about $325 billion. Major companies include Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), Unisys, and the technology consulting arms of IBM and Hewlett-Packard. The computer facilities management segment of the industry is highly concentrated: the 50 largest companies generate about 80 percent of revenue. The rest of the industry is fragmented: the 50 largest companies account for about 40 percent of revenue. Worldwide IT services spending is about $3.7 trillion annually, according to Gartner. Leading exporters of computer and technology services include India, the US, Israel, and China, according to the World Trade Organization. Major companies based outside the US include Fujitsu (Japan), T-Systems International (a subsidiary of Germany's Deutsche Telekom), and Cap Gemini (France)."
},
{
"@DNBCodeValue": 700,
"@TypeText": "NAICS",
"IndustryCode": "541511"
},
{
"@DNBCodeValue": 700,
"@TypeText": "NAICS",
"IndustryCode": "541512"
},
{
"@DNBCodeValue": 700,
"@TypeText": "NAICS",
"IndustryCode": "541513"
},
{
"@DNBCodeValue": 700,
"@TypeText": "NAICS",
"IndustryCode": "541519"
},
{
"@DNBCodeValue": 399,
"@TypeText": "US SIC (1987)",
"IndustryCode": "7376"
},
{
"@DNBCodeValue": 399,
"@TypeText": "US SIC (1987)",
"IndustryCode": "7373"
},
{
"@DNBCodeValue": 399,
"@TypeText": "US SIC (1987)",
"IndustryCode": "7371"
},
{
"@DNBCodeValue": 399,
"@TypeText": "US SIC (1987)",
"IndustryCode": "7379"
}
],
"IndustryProfileChapterDetail": [
{
"ChapterName": "Business Challenges",
"ChapterContentDetail": [
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Critical Issues",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"TitleText": "Revenue Depends on Corporate Technology Spending ",
"ContentText": "Because spending for IT services comes mainly from corporation upgrades, much of it can be postponed during economic downturns. A large percentage of annual US capital investment is computer-related, exposing IT spending to economic cycles.<font style='background-color: #9cec8d'><\/font> ",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"TitleText": "Competition from Hardware, Software Suppliers",
"ContentText": "As computer and communication hardware and software become commodity-type products with lower margins, their manufacturers are providing more integration and maintenance services, in competition with traditional IT companies. Often manufacturers, particularly computer makers, have deeper financial resources and greater capacity to perform IT functions than their traditional IT counterparts. Other competitors that are not necessarily traditional IT firms nonetheless can offer services that overlap with an IT rival's own offerings. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
}
]
}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Other Business Challenges",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"TitleText": "Customer Concentrations ",
"ContentText": "Because IT companies, particularly smaller firms, may depend on only a few large customers for most of their revenue, customer consolidations or failures can have serious financial consequences. In the early 2010s, IT firms competed for customers as companies consolidated due to the economic downturn.",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"TitleText": "High Capital Investment ",
"ContentText": "IT outsourcing companies must make high initial capital investments in equipment and facilities at the beginning of an outsourcing contract. IT companies buy hardware, software, facilities, and other services, and their cost must be amortized over the life of the contract; early contract termination caused by business failures or mergers can result in heavy losses. Many smaller firms in the industry don't have access to enough capital to serve large customers. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
},
{
"TitleText": "Technical Risks Associated with System Implementation ",
"ContentText": "IT firms implement new computer hardware and software systems for clients. Unsuccessful implementations are rare but can seriously damage a firm. Complicated projects may also cost more to implement than originally anticipated, leading to financial quarrels with the customer.",
"ImportanceLevel": 3
},
{
"TitleText": "Dependence on Key Employees ",
"ContentText": "The expertise that IT companies sell to customers often resides in a few key individuals. For small firms, especially, the loss of a few employees can be catastrophic. Hiring and retaining talented employees with increasingly diverse skills is an ongoing concern for IT companies.",
"ImportanceLevel": 4
},
{
"TitleText": "Dependence on Alliance Partners ",
"ContentText": "IT companies large and small depend heavily on larger partners to market their services. While alliances usually benefit both partners, they also increase the risk that the partner won't perform adequately. Business allies or partners that fail to sufficiently deliver their contributions to a project can open an IT company to multiple liabilities.",
"ImportanceLevel": 5
},
{
"TitleText": "Vulnerability to Rapid Technological Evolution ",
"ContentText": "The very rapid evolution of computers, telecommunications, and software makes staying abreast of the latest technology difficult for many IT firms. The high degree of specialization within the industry makes it easier for firms to understand developments in their own niche. But too much specialization also leaves the company vulnerable to obsolescence if there is a technology shift.",
"ImportanceLevel": 6
}
]
}]}
]
},
{
"ChapterName": "Call Preparation Questions",
"ChapterContentDetail": [
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Call Preparation Questions - Conversation Starters",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"TitleText": "How does the company manage shifts in corporate technology spending? ",
"ContentText": "Because spending for IT services comes mainly from corporation upgrades, much of it can be postponed during economic downturns.",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"TitleText": "How vulnerable is the company to nontraditional competition? ",
"ContentText": "As computer and communication hardware and software become commodity-type products with lower margins, their manufacturers are providing more integration and maintenance services, in competition with traditional IT companies.",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
},
{
"TitleText": "How many customers does the company need to stay profitable? ",
"ContentText": "Because IT companies, particularly smaller firms, may depend on only a few large customers for most of their revenue, customer consolidations or failures can have serious financial consequences.",
"ImportanceLevel": 3
},
{
"TitleText": "How is heightened demand for security impacting the company? ",
"ContentText": "The heightened focus on security will provide additional opportunities for IT companies, which will be called on to design and implement new computerized security systems for both businesses and governments.",
"ImportanceLevel": 4
},
{
"TitleText": "What opportunities do networking and wireless technology present the company? ",
"ContentText": "The rapid evolution of business networks to include wireless devices has created new opportunities for IT firms.",
"ImportanceLevel": 5
},
{
"TitleText": "How is the growth of e-commerce affecting the company?",
"ContentText": "Companies hoping to gain a strong edge in the new economy are launching e-business initiatives that require significant new investments in IT solutions.",
"ImportanceLevel": 6
}
]
}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Call Preparation Questions - Quarterly Industry Update",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [ {
"TitleText": "What is the company’s outlook for growth in 2013?",
"ContentText": "Information technology services in the US could grow by nearly 4 percent in 2013 compared to 2012, according to the latest industry forecast for First Research from INFORUM.",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
}]
}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Call Preparation Questions - Operations, Products, and Facilities",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"TitleText": "Which services does the company provide?",
"ContentText": "Examples include systems design and integration, data processing, outsourcing, data warehousing, training, and consulting. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"TitleText": "To what extent does the company specialize in a particular IT sector, such as e-commerce, networks, or security systems?",
"ContentText": "E-commerce, networks, and security are important issues facing potential IT customers in the current global economy.",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
},
{
"TitleText": "How extensively does the company work with hardware from a particular vendor?",
"ContentText": "Many IT firms develop strategic alliances with hardware companies to offer more comprehensive customer service offerings.",
"ImportanceLevel": 3
},
{
"TitleText": "How many offices does the company operate?",
"ContentText": "Even smaller companies may have several locations.",
"ImportanceLevel": 4
},
{
"TitleText": "If an outsourcer, how many data centers does the company operate?",
"ContentText": "IT firms are tapping into global resources to boost competitiveness by partnering with foreign firms.",
"ImportanceLevel": 5
},
{
"TitleText": "To what degree does the company also develop hardware and/or software? ",
"ContentText": "Larger companies often provide software programming, while hardware companies frequently provide IT consulting.",
"ImportanceLevel": 6
}
]
}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Call Preparation Questions - Customers, Marketing, Pricing, Competition",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"TitleText": "How concentrated is the company's work in regard to customers?",
"ContentText": "Customer concentration is common with IT firms. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"TitleText": "How long does a typical contract last? ",
"ContentText": "Contracts may last anywhere from one month to 10 years; three-year contracts are common. Outsourcing contracts typically last 10 years because of the large upfront costs.",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
},
{
"TitleText": "Are contracts typically bid fixed-cost or time-and-materials?",
"ContentText": "Fixed-cost contracts have great profit potential, but also greater risk.",
"ImportanceLevel": 3
},
{
"TitleText": "How many projects does the company usually work on at a time?",
"ContentText": "Companies often use project management systems to handle multiple projects at once.",
"ImportanceLevel": 4
},
{
"TitleText": "To what extent does the company usually have a backlog of projects?",
"ContentText": "IT companies anticipate product demand by attending conferences and trade shows, or through their consultants and personal contacts.",
"ImportanceLevel": 5
},
{
"TitleText": "How reliant is the company on government contracts? How profitable is this work?",
"ContentText": "More states are outsourcing IT functions, although government contracts are traditionally less profitable than private-sector work. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 6
},
{
"TitleText": "How extensively does the company participate in trade shows?",
"ContentText": "Many IT companies use trade shows to display their newest products and services.",
"ImportanceLevel": 7
},
{
"TitleText": "What types of competition does the company face?",
"ContentText": "IT services firms are aware of intense competitors, such as large systems integrators, big consulting firms, and hardware vendors; but often underestimate software and offshore IT firms as emerging competitors. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 8
},
{
"TitleText": "How often does the company revise its pricing terms?",
"ContentText": "In previous years, IT firms charged by the hour, which put the risk of cost overruns mainly on the customer. Now, more contracts are being quoted fixed-price, with the risk of cost overruns shouldered by the provider.",
"ImportanceLevel": 9
},
{
"TitleText": "What types of security products or services does the firm market?",
"ContentText": "The market for security-related hardware, software, and services is expected to grow substantially as corporations and government agencies increase IT security spending. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 10
}
]
}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Call Preparation Questions - Regulations, R&D, Imports and Exports",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"TitleText": "To what extent does the company have international business?",
"ContentText": "Large companies like Hewlett-Packard get a major share of their business overseas.",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"TitleText": "What regulatory pressures does the company face?",
"ContentText": "IT companies that do business with the US government fall under various governmental contracting and accounting regulations, including federal acquisition regulations, cost accounting standards, and federal agency audits.",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
},
{
"TitleText": "How reliant is the company on foreign labor?",
"ContentText": "Some IT companies engaged in data processing or the outsourcing of computing or programming activities have established operations in foreign countries like India, where labor costs are much lower. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 3
},
{
"TitleText": "How does the company monitor and keep pace with changing international regulation?",
"ContentText": "Companies that have extensive overseas operations must also abide by international and local country regulations covering trade and labor conditions, among others.",
"ImportanceLevel": 4
}
]
}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Call Preparation Questions - Organization and Management",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"TitleText": "How does the company hire, train, and retain qualified staff? ",
"ContentText": "Finding qualified personnel is a major issue and firms spend significant resources to find, train, and retain qualified labor. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"TitleText": "How dependent is the company on key employees?",
"ContentText": "A few key people often determine a small firm’s success. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
},
{
"TitleText": "How does the company mitigate the risk that a key person may leave the company?",
"ContentText": "In small companies, stock options or awards are often used to keep key personnel.",
"ImportanceLevel": 3
},
{
"TitleText": "How often does the company ally with other companies to seek new business?",
"ContentText": "Because of specialization, companies frequently collaborate to bid on a contract.",
"ImportanceLevel": 4
},
{
"TitleText": "How much and what type of work does the company outsource?",
"ContentText": "Even IT companies may outsource IT projects to save on employee costs.",
"ImportanceLevel": 5
},
{
"TitleText": "How much does the company use foreign IT workers brought in with H-1B work visas?",
"ContentText": "Computer-related occupations account for a large share of approved H-1B petitions. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 6
}
]
}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Call Preparation Questions - Financial Analysis",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"TitleText": "How uneven is company cash flow?",
"ContentText": "Cash flow in IT companies can be highly uneven because money must often be spent at the beginning of a project, before any payments are received. Conversely, some contracts provide for a large initial payment. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"TitleText": "How reliant is the company on venture capital funds?",
"ContentText": "Small IT companies often go through several rounds of venture capital financing before going public.",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
},
{
"TitleText": "How does equity or debt funding impact company growth?",
"ContentText": "Companies use debt and/or equity financings to help pay for such things as expansion, acquisitions, and R&D.",
"ImportanceLevel": 3
},
{
"TitleText": "If an outsourcer, how much does the company spend per year on new computer equipment?",
"ContentText": "In a typical outsourcing contract, an IT company operates (and may own) a client's computer systems either at its location or at a centralized data center.",
"ImportanceLevel": 4
},
{
"TitleText": "To what extent does the company typically receive progress or lump-sum payments on consulting projects?",
"ContentText": "IT firms usually make either fixed-price or time-and-materials bids.",
"ImportanceLevel": 5
},
{
"TitleText": "How does the company recognize revenue?",
"ContentText": "Consultants may book revenue as progress is made, or when a project is complete. On operations contracts, revenue may be booked before any payments are received. The accounting treatment of revenue can be an important feature of income statements. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 6
},
{
"TitleText": "If the company has foreign sales, how does it protect itself against currency fluctuations?",
"ContentText": "Contracts may be denominated in dollars, or the company may hedge with futures contracts.",
"ImportanceLevel": 7
}
]
}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Call Preparation Questions - Business and Technology Strategies",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"TitleText": "How does the company manage vulnerability to economic cycles?",
"ContentText": "Many customers cut IT spending sharply during the late 2000s recession. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"TitleText": "What areas of revenue growth has the company identified?",
"ContentText": "The overall trend in IT spending is toward software and services and away from hardware. Integrating communications with computer systems is expected to be an area of strong corporate demand.",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
},
{
"TitleText": "To what degree does the company ally with multiple partners?",
"ContentText": "Partnering with larger firms can give small IT companies credibility. Large companies use small partners with expertise in a market niche. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 3
},
{
"TitleText": "How does the company anticipate shifts in corporate outsourcing?",
"ContentText": "Because computer systems are heavily used in many countries, a large number of IT companies have substantial outsourcing contracts.",
"ImportanceLevel": 4
},
{
"TitleText": "How does the company plan to grow?",
"ContentText": "Acquisitions have been an important way for firms to get new expertise.",
"ImportanceLevel": 5
}
]
}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Call Preparation Questions - Executive Insight",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"TitleText": "CEO: How important are large customers to the company's business?",
"ContentText": "Many IT companies depend on a few customers for a large part of revenue.",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"TitleText": "CEO: How is the company challenged by negotiating major contracts?",
"ContentText": "Since the failure of a project can devastate an IT company, senior executives are closely involved in contract decisions.",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
},
{
"TitleText": "CFO: How is the company challenged or advantaged by negotiating computer and software purchases?",
"ContentText": "When buying in quantity, companies can typically receive large discounts off list prices from dealers or directly from manufacturers. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 3
},
{
"TitleText": "CFO: How does the company manage uneven business demand?",
"ContentText": "IT companies need to retain certain numbers of experts between assignments and during times of uneven customer demand. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 4
},
{
"TitleText": "CIO: How does the company anticipate future product and service demand?",
"ContentText": "IT companies keep up-to-date with computer and software advances through manufacturers, conferences, trade shows, and professional contacts. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 5
},
{
"TitleText": "CIO: How does the company plan to improve its project management software capabilities?",
"ContentText": "IT companies need to schedule and manage multiple projects, customers, and staff over months and sometimes years.",
"ImportanceLevel": 6
},
{
"TitleText": "HR: How is the company challenged finding and retaining qualified employees?",
"ContentText": "Firms compete for specialists, augment staff with foreign H-1B visa workers, and pay much more than the national average wage to retain good employees. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 7
},
{
"TitleText": "HR: What programs does the company have for ongoing employee IT training?",
"ContentText": "IT firms send employees to hardware and computer vendor training, university courses, internal classes, and industry seminars.",
"ImportanceLevel": 8
},
{
"TitleText": "Sales: How extensive are the firm's alliances with other IT companies?",
"ContentText": "Firms ally with complementary companies to provide a broader range of services, and become resellers of vendor services and/or products. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 9
},
{
"TitleText": "Sales: How does the company customize its marketing?",
"ContentText": "Some IT firms specialize by industry and some market to a variety of businesses, often using industry intelligence tools. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 10
}
]
}]}
]
},
{
"ChapterName": "Executive Insight",
"ChapterContentDetail": [
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Chief Executive Officer - CEO",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"TitleText": "Maintaining Relations with Large Customers",
"ContentText": "Many IT companies depend on a few customers for a large part of revenue. Satisfied customers prefer to stay with an IT company they know well, rather than seek other vendors for additional IT work. Consequently, a single customer may provide an IT company with a succession of projects. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"TitleText": "Negotiating Major Contracts",
"ContentText": "Because computer systems are very important to customer operations, contracts for IT work tend to be large and therefore require senior executives to be involved. Contracts typically stipulate a list of specifications and a fixed price with the IT company responsible for cost overruns. Many contracts are awarded after bidding. Since the failure of a project can be catastrophic for an IT company, senior executives are closely involved in contract decisions.",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
}
]
}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Chief Financial Officer - CFO",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"TitleText": "Negotiating Computer Equipment Purchases",
"ContentText": "IT companies that operate data processing centers for their customers regularly need new computer equipment, including software. IT companies may also negotiate the purchase of new computer equipment on behalf of customers. By buying in quantity, companies can typically receive large discounts off list prices from dealers or directly from manufacturers.",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"TitleText": "Planning for Uneven Business Demand",
"ContentText": "Corporate spending for IT services depends on the level of corporate profits, which can swing widely from year to year. Generally, corporate IT expense funds operations, maintenance, and project development. In economic downturns, most development work is deferred or canceled. Because a lot of IT work is done as projects, companies may have revenue gaps between assignments, but don’t want to lay off workers with IT expertise.",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
}
]
}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Chief Information Officer - CIO",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"TitleText": "Anticipating Product Demand",
"ContentText": "Because computer technology changes rapidly, IT companies must prepare for changes in customer demand. In previous years, the focus of IT consulting shifted in turn from minicomputers to PC networks, to wireless networks, to Internet applications. To remain abreast of new technology and business developments, IT companies stay in touch with computer and software companies through conferences, trade shows, consultants, and personal contacts. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"TitleText": "Implementing Project Management Software",
"ContentText": "To manage IT projects that may take from months to years to complete--and may involve many participants--companies can use project management software. Even the migration to an external data center must be carefully planned, and IT integration projects can be highly complex. Project management systems typically include scheduling, file exchange, communications, and Internet collaboration tools.",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
}
]
}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Human Resources - HR",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"TitleText": "Hiring and Retaining IT Workers",
"ContentText": "IT companies compete for workers with corporations that maintain their own IT department, with hardware and software companies, and with management consultants. Because of specialization, a worker with specific knowledge may be difficult to find. In recent years, many companies have hired foreign IT workers through the H-1B visa program. To retain workers, companies must pay well: The average pay of IT workers is significantly higher than that of other US workers.",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"TitleText": "Providing Continuing IT Education",
"ContentText": "Because of the rapid evolution of IT, companies need to keep their workers abreast of changing knowledge. To do this, some have internal 'universities'; others develop ties with real universities and regularly attend industry conferences and seminars. Companies also foster close relations with large hardware and software producers.",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
}
]
}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "VP Sales/Marketing - Sales",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"TitleText": "Establishing Alliances with Other IT Companies",
"ContentText": "Because they usually offer specialized knowledge, IT companies may form alliances with complementary companies to offer a broader array of services. Companies also may ally with large companies like IBM to basically become resellers of their services or hardware. By establishing a portfolio of alliances, companies can benefit from the marketing efforts of all partners.",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"TitleText": "Customizing Industry Marketing",
"ContentText": "Although IT services can be used by customers in many different industries, many IT companies customize their marketing approach to appeal to individual customers. While some companies specialize in a particular industry, such as health care, others use industry intelligence tools to enable them to understand the business of a variety of customers.",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
}
]
}]}
]
},
{
"ChapterName": "Financial Information",
"ChapterContentDetail": [
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "COMPANY BENCHMARK INFORMATION",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [ {
"TitleText": "NAICS: 5415",
"ContentText": "<table width='100%' border='0' cellspacing='1' cellpadding='3'><tr><td class='tablerow'>Data Period <\/td><td colspan='4' class='tablebody'>Last Update August 2012<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class='tablerow'>Table Data Format <\/td><td colspan='4' class='tablebody'>Mean<\/td><\/tr><tr><td colspan='5'> <\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=center width=40% class='tablerow'>Company Size<\/td><td align=center width=15% class='tablebody'>All<\/td><td align=center width=15% class='tablebody'>Large<\/td><td align=center width=15% class='tablebody'>Medium<\/td><td align=center width=15% class='tablebody'>Small<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=center width=40% class='tablerow'>Size by Revenue<\/td><td align=center width=15% class='tablebody'> <\/td><td align=center width=15% class='tablebody'>Over $50M<\/td><td align=center width=15% class='tablebody'>$5M - $50M<\/td><td align=center width=15% class='tablebody'>Under $5M<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'>Company Count<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>92618<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>111<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>2256<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>90251<\/td><\/tr><tr><td colspan='5'> <\/td><\/tr><tr><td colspan='5' class='tablehead'>Income Statement <\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'>Net Sales<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>100%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>100%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>100%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>100%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'>Gross Margin<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>75.7%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>70.2%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>76.1%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>77.4%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'>Officer Compensation<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>4.2%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>3.3%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>3.9%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>4.8%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'>Advertising & Sales<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>0.9%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>0.9%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>1.0%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>0.9%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'>Other Operating Expenses<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>67.3%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>62.3%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>68.3%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>68.5%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'>Operating Expenses<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>72.5%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>66.5%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>73.2%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>74.1%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'>Operating Income<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>3.2%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>3.7%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>2.9%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>3.3%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'>Net Income<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>1.7%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>1.9%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>1.6%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>1.7%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td colspan=5> <\/td><\/tr><tr><td colspan=5 class='tablehead'>Balance Sheet<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'>Cash<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>22.1%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>22.1%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>21.8%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>22.3%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'>Accounts Receivable<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>25.3%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>26.9%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>25.5%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>24.2%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'>Inventory<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>3.1%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>2.8%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>3.1%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>3.2%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'>Total Current Assets<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>60.6%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>61.9%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>60.5%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>60.0%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'>Property, Plant & Equipment<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>13.9%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>9.6%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>14.4%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>15.6%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'>Other Non-Current Assets<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>25.5%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>28.5%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>25.1%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>24.4%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'>Total Assets<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>100.0%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>100.0%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>100.0%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>100.0%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'>Accounts Payable<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>10.0%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>10.1%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>10.4%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>9.7%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'>Total Current Liabilities<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>36.0%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>34.3%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>36.3%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>36.7%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'>Total Long Term Liabilities<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>24.3%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>19.0%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>24.4%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>26.7%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'>Net Worth<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>39.7%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>46.7%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>39.4%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>36.7%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td colspan=5> <\/td><\/tr><tr><td colspan='5' class='tablehead'>Financial Ratios<br>(Click on any ratio for comprehensive definitions)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'><a href='glossary.aspx#1' class='tableRowLink' title='Click to Define' target='_blank'>Quick Ratio<\/a><\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>1.39<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>1.50<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>1.37<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>1.36<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'><a href='glossary.aspx#2' class='tableRowLink' title='Click to Define' target='_blank'>Current Ratio<\/a><\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>1.68<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>1.81<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>1.67<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>1.64<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'><a href='glossary.aspx#3' class='tableRowLink' title='Click to Define' target='_blank'>Current Liabilities to Net Worth<\/a><\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>90.8%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>73.4%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>92.2%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>100.0%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'><a href='glossary.aspx#4' class='tableRowLink' title='Click to Define' target='_blank'>Current Liabilities to Inventory<\/a><\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>x11.70<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>x12.41<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>x11.55<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>x11.53<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'><a href='glossary.aspx#5' class='tableRowLink' title='Click to Define' target='_blank'>Total Debt to Net Worth<\/a><\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>x1.52<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>x1.14<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>x1.54<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>x1.73<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'><a href='glossary.aspx#6' class='tableRowLink' title='Click to Define' target='_blank'>Fixed Assets to Net Worth<\/a><\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>x0.35<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>x0.21<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>x0.37<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>x0.42<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'><a href='glossary.aspx#7' class='tableRowLink' title='Click to Define' target='_blank'>Days Accounts Receivable<\/a><\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>52<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>64<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>54<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>45<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'><a href='glossary.aspx#8' class='tableRowLink' title='Click to Define' target='_blank'>Inventory Turnover<\/a><\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>x14.11<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>x16.59<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>x13.11<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>x13.89<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'><a href='glossary.aspx#9' class='tableRowLink' title='Click to Define' target='_blank'>Total Assets to Sales<\/a><\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>57.9%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>67.6%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>60.2%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>52.7%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'><a href='glossary.aspx#10' class='tableRowLink' title='Click to Define' target='_blank'>Working Capital to Sales<\/a><\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>14.2%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>18.7%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>14.6%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>12.3%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'><a href='glossary.aspx#11' class='tableRowLink' title='Click to Define' target='_blank'>Accounts Payable to Sales<\/a><\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>5.6%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>6.5%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>6.0%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>4.9%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'><a href='glossary.aspx#12' class='tableRowLink' title='Click to Define' target='_blank'>Pre-Tax Return on Sales<\/a><\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>2.8%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>3.1%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>2.5%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>2.8%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'><a href='glossary.aspx#13' class='tableRowLink' title='Click to Define' target='_blank'>Pre-Tax Return on Assets<\/a><\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>4.8%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>4.6%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>4.2%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>5.3%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'><a href='glossary.aspx#14' class='tableRowLink' title='Click to Define' target='_blank'>Pre-Tax Return on Net Worth<\/a><\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>12.1%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>9.9%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>10.7%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>14.6%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'><a href='glossary.aspx#15' class='tableRowLink' title='Click to Define' target='_blank'>Interest Coverage<\/a><\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>x4.14<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>x3.87<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>x4.20<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>x4.22<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'><a href='glossary.aspx#16' class='tableRowLink' title='Click to Define' target='_blank'>EBITDA to Sales<\/a><\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>5.5%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>6.4%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>5.2%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>5.4%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align=right class='tablerow'><a href='glossary.aspx#17' class='tableRowLink' title='Click to Define' target='_blank'>Capital Expenditures to Sales<\/a><\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>3.1%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>3.5%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>3.2%<\/td><td align=center class='tablebody'>2.9%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td colspan='5'> <\/td><\/tr><tr><td colspan='5' class='tag' bgcolor='#f0f0ee'>Financial industry data provided by MicroBilt Corporation collected from 32 different data sources and represents financial performance of over 4.5 million privately held businesses and detailed industry financial benchmarks of companies in over 900 industries (SIC and NAICS). More data available by subscription or single report purchase at <a href='http://www.microbilt.com/firstresearch' title='http://www.microbilt.com/firstresearch' target='_blank'>www.microbilt.com/firstresearch<\/a>.<\/td><\/tr><\/table>",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
}]
}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "ECONOMIC STATISTICS AND INFORMATION",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"TitleText": "Computer Technology Services Exports - World Trade Organization",
"ContentText": "<table><tr><td><img src='http://www.firstresearch.com/customers/reports/includes01/COIT/COIT-intl.jpg'><\/td><\/tr><\/table>",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"TitleText": "Service Segmentation by Revenue - Census Bureau",
"ContentText": "<table><tr><td><img src='http://www.firstresearch.com/customers/reports/includes01/COIT/COIT-proseg.jpg'><\/td><\/tr><\/table>",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
}
]
}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "VALUATION MULTIPLES",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [ {
"ContentText": "<table width='500' cellpadding='10' cellspacing='0' border='0' bgcolor='#f0f0ee'><tr><td><strong>Information Technology Services<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr class='tabletext'><td>Acquisition multiples below are calculated using at least 17 private, middle-market (valued at less than $1 billion) industry asset transactions completed between 10/2003 and 3/2012. Data updated annually. Last updated: October 2012.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td align='center'><table width='500' border='0' cellspacing='1' cellpadding='3'><tr><td width='140' class='tablerow'>Valuation Multiple<\/td><td width='90' class='tablehead'>MVIC/Net Sales<\/td><td width='90' class='tablehead'>MVIC/Gross Profit<\/td><td width='90' class='tablehead'>MVIC/EBIT<\/td><td width='90' class='tablehead'>MVIC/EBITDA<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class='tablerow'>Median Value<\/td><td class='tablebody'>0.6<\/td><td class='tablebody'>0.9<\/td><td class='tablebody'>4.4<\/td><td class='tablebody'>4.1<\/td><\/tr><\/table><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>MVIC (Market Value of Invested Capital)<\/strong> = Also known as the selling price, the MVIC is the total consideration paid to the seller and includes any cash, notes and/or securities that were used as a form of payment plus any interest-bearing liabilities assumed by the buyer.<br><strong>Net Sales<\/strong> = Annual Gross Sales, net of returns and discounts allowed, if any.<br><strong>Gross Profit<\/strong> = Net Sales - Cost of Goods Sold<br><strong>EBIT<\/strong> = Operating Profit<br><strong>EBITDA<\/strong> = Operating Profit + Noncash Charges<br><\/td><\/tr><tr><td class='tag'>SOURCE: Pratt's Stats™ (Portland, OR: Business Valuation Resources, LLC) To purchase more detailed information, please either visit <a href='http://www.BVMarketData.com' target='source' class='tag'>www.BVMarketData.com<\/a> or call 888-287-8258.<\/td><\/tr><\/table>",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
}]
}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [{"SubChapterName": "TRADE ASSOCIATION BENCHMARKING STATISTICS"}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "COMPANY BENCHMARK TRENDS",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [ {
"ContentText": "<table width='500'cellspacing='0' border='0' bgcolor='#f0f0ee'><tr><td><p><br /><strong>Quick Ratio by Company Size<\/strong><br /><br />The quick ratio, also known as the acid test ratio, measures a company's ability to meet short-term obligations with liquid assets. The higher the ratio, the better; a number below 1 signals financial distress. Use the quick ratio to determine if companies in an industry are typically able to pay off their current liabilities.<\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr class='tabletext'><td> <\/td><\/tr><tr><td align='center'><img src='http://www.firstresearch.com/Customers/reports/includes01/COIT/COIT-cbiqr.jpg'><\/td><\/tr><tr><td> <\/td><\/tr><tr><td><p><span class='tag'>Financial industry data provided by MicroBilt Corporation collected from 32 different data sources and represents financial performance of over 4.5 million privately held businesses and detailed industry financial benchmarks of companies in over 900 industries (SIC and NAICS). More data available by subscription or single report purchase at <a href='http://www.microbilt.com/firstresearch' title='http://www.microbilt.com/firstresearch' target='_blank'>www.microbilt.com/firstresearch<\/a>.<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/table>",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
}]
}]}
]
},
{
"ChapterName": "Glossary of Acronyms",
"ChapterContentDetail": [
{
"TitleText": "CSC",
"ContentText": "Computer Sciences Corporation",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"TitleText": "PC",
"ContentText": "Personal Computer",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
},
{
"TitleText": "SaaS",
"ContentText": "software-as-a-service",
"ImportanceLevel": 3
}
]
},
{
"ChapterName": "Industry Forecast",
"ChapterContentDetail": [
{
"ContentText": "The output of US computer and data processing services is forecast to grow at an annual compounded rate of 4 percent between 2012 and 2016. Data Published: September 2012",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"TitleText": "Computing and Data Services Growth Uneven",
"ContentText": "First Research forecasts are based on INFORUM forecasts that are licensed from the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. (IERF) in College Park, MD. INFORUM's 'interindustry-macro' approach to modeling the economy captures the links between industries and the aggregate economy.",
"ImageURL": "http://www.firstresearch.com/Customers/reports/includes01/COIT/COIT-indfor.jpg",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
},
{
"TitleText": "First Research Industry Growth Rating",
"ContentText": "Reflects snapshot of industry performance vs. industry risk over the next 12 to 24 months relative to other U.S. industries, along with short descriptions of vital demand and risk factors influencing the industry. Use to quickly determine the overall projected health of an industry.",
"KeyFactText": [
"Demand: Driven by technical advances",
"Require technical expertise and innovative services",
"Risk: High capital investment and rapid technology evolution"
],
"ImageURL": "http://access.firstresearch.com/images/High.gif",
"ImportanceLevel": 3
}
]
},
{
"ChapterName": "Industry Indicators",
"ChapterContentDetail": [
{
"ContentText": "Total US consumer spending, a driver for the IT needs of consumers, rose 1.7 percent, primarily from nondurable goods expenditures, in September 2012 compared to the same month in 2011.",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"ContentText": "US corporate profits, an indicator for corporate investment in information technology, rose 6.1 percent in the second quarter of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011.",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
},
{
"ContentText": "Total US revenue for computer systems design and related services rose 0.9 percent in the second quarter of 2012 compared to first quarter 2012.",
"ImportanceLevel": 3
}
]
},
{
"ChapterName": "Industry Overview",
"ChapterContentDetail": [
{
"ContentText": "The US information technology (IT) services industry includes about 100,000 companies with combined annual revenue of about $325 billion. Major companies include Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), Unisys, and the technology consulting arms of IBM and Hewlett-Packard. The computer facilities management segment of the industry is highly concentrated: the 50 largest companies generate about 80 percent of revenue. The rest of the industry is fragmented: the 50 largest companies account for about 40 percent of revenue.",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"ContentText": "Worldwide IT services spending is about $3.7 trillion annually, according to Gartner. Leading exporters of computer and technology services include India, the US, Israel, and China, according to the World Trade Organization. Major companies based outside the US include Fujitsu (Japan), T-Systems International (a subsidiary of Germany's Deutsche Telekom), and Cap Gemini (France).",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Industry Overview - Competitive Landscape",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [ {
"ContentText": "Demand for IT services is driven by rapid technological advances, but spending for these expensive products depends on the health of the US economy. The profitability of companies depends on offering technical expertise, innovative services, and effective marketing. Large companies have advantages in broad service offerings and global reach, which give them the ability to provide outsourcing services to big corporate customers. Small companies can compete effectively by specializing in market niches or by partnering with larger companies that want to broaden their mix of services.",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
}]
}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Industry Overview - Products, Operations & Technology",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"ContentText": "IT companies mainly provide consulting, systems integration, data processing, and technology outsourcing services to business customers. Computer systems design, development, and integration services account for about 35 percent of industry revenue; application design and development services, 25 percent; and technical support, 10 percent. These companies help clients use computers, software, and communications systems more efficiently. In addition to providing advice on using computer systems, they frequently recommend hardware and software systems to their customers. Firms provide a variety of associated services, including business function outsourcing, data warehousing, systems planning, enterprise resource planning, and training. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"ContentText": "Companies may be pure consulting operations, or also operate outsourcing and data processing functions, such as IBM and Hewlett-Packard. The types of contracts firms have with customers depend on the service being rendered. Data processing and outsourcing contracts typically last for many years because of the substantial initial cost. In a typical outsourcing contract, the IT company operates (and may own) the computer systems of a client, either operating them at the customer's location or at a centralized data center that serves multiple clients. Consulting contracts are shorter, usually lasting less than a year, and typically specify either a fixed project cost or services billed at hourly rates. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
},
{
"ContentText": "IT operations most often begin at a service provider's website. Large companies like IBM's Global Services division use the Internet to introduce prospective clients to their services. Once a contract is signed, an IT provider can assist customers with on-site staff, live teleconferencing or webcast tutorials, and longer-term online support (via email and instant messaging between IT staff and customers). Primary applications for IT include aligning IT initiatives with overall business goals, improving IT infrastructure efficiency, and creating a flexible service-oriented architecture that combines systems development with business processes.",
"ImportanceLevel": 3
}
]
}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Industry Overview - Sales & Marketing",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"ContentText": "The customers of IT firms are often the IT departments of corporations and government agencies. Companies typically offer time-and-materials contracts or fixed-price contracts, or some combination of both. Major contracts are often secured after a bidding process. For contracts that also involve the purchase of hardware or software, consultants often partner with a specific hardware or software company to provide a comprehensive bid. Marketing is largely through personal selling by executives and senior managers, or through reputation within a particular industry. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"ContentText": "Because the most effective use of computer technology is different for different industries, IT companies often specialize in a particular industry, such as health care or financial services, or in segments within an industry. Large companies have service groups for different industries and market their services to those groups specifically. Due to the complexity of their services, companies often customize their prices for each service, accounting for the required skills and the estimated cost of providing the service. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
},
{
"ContentText": "Competition comes in multiple forms, including offshore providers, service arms of large global technology firms, niche providers, and companies that rely on their own internal IT resources.",
"ImportanceLevel": 3
},
{
"ContentText": "Pricing can be competitive, particularly among large IT providers. Competitors put significant investments in creating closed and proprietary IT platforms in order to lock customers into a specific IT system. That can drive up prices as a result. Firms also work to develop differentiated and premium IT products that allow them to charge more.",
"ImportanceLevel": 4
}
]
}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Industry Overview - Finance & Regulation",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"ContentText": "Since IT companies mainly provide expertise, labor is their largest expense. Companies typically have highly variable cash flow that is dependent on timely receivables management, investment opportunities and large outsourcing contracts, and effective capital management. Accounts receivable are typically about 25 percent of sales. Companies often use forward contracts to hedge against future risk, such as fluctuations in foreign currency. Data processing and outsourcing services providers have large investments in computer centers and periodically must make additional investments to upgrade their computer systems.",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"ContentText": "IT companies that do business with the US government fall under various governmental contracting and accounting regulations, including federal acquisition regulations, cost accounting standards, and federal agency audits. Companies that have extensive overseas operations must also abide by international and local country regulations covering trade and labor conditions, among others.",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
}
]
}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Industry Overview - Regional & International Issues",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"ContentText": "Worldwide IT services spending is about $3.7 trillion annually, according to Gartner. Of the top 10 exporters of computer and technology services, the European Union nations lead by far, with a combined 54 percent market share, followed by India with 18 percent. Other leading exporters include the US (7 percent), Israel (4 percent), and China (3 percent), according to the World Trade Organization. Major companies based outside the US include Fujitsu (Japan), T-Systems International (a subsidiary of Germany's Deutsche Telekom), and Cap Gemini (France).",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"ContentText": "Global spending on IT services is expected to grow by 2.5 percent in 2012, according to Gartner. IT spending has grown most in computing hardware, telecom, enterprise software, and pure IT services. Emerging markets are important to the worldwide IT industry, fueled in large part by low prices for equipment and services. PC and tablet sales have grown rapidly in developing countries, and China has become a leading IT market, according to Plunkett Research.",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
},
{
"ContentText": "Global service providers are sensitive to changes in their customers' business. Companies that provide IT services to telecom carriers, financial firms, and large manufacturers, for instance, face profitability risks when their clients suffer losses. In addition, some IT firms like Fujitsu rely on local and national governments for a significant portion of their business; likewise, changes in e-government initiatives and other IT policies can impact sales.",
"ImportanceLevel": 3
},
{
"ContentText": "The migration to public cloud computing services presents a key opportunity to the international IT sector. Personal cloud services were anticipated to outpace PCs as the hub of consumers' digital lives by 2014, according to Gartner. Cloud services enable companies and organizations to store data remotely without relying on their own physical servers.",
"ImportanceLevel": 4
},
{
"ContentText": "Many US IT companies have substantial foreign revenues. Some IT companies engaged in data processing or the outsourcing of computing or programming activities have established operations in countries like India, where labor costs are lower than in the US. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 5
},
{
"ContentText": "In the US, the number of IT service professionals in a state is inversely related to the average hourly rates for IT service. Fewer IT consultants in states like Wyoming and Alaska mean longer wait times for service and higher rates.",
"ImportanceLevel": 6
}
]
}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Human Resources",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"ContentText": "IT companies need technologically skilled labor, and finding and keeping such labor is an ongoing concern. Firms find entry-level employees among recent college graduates who have degrees in computer science or mathematics. IT skills and experience bring premium pay: average hourly industry wages are significantly higher than the national average -- about double. A few key people often determine the success of a smaller firm. Annual turnover is an industry-wide issue for professional services (including IT), and firms have significant expenses for finding, training, and retaining qualified labor. The IT industry’s safety record is excellent, with an extremely low incidence of injuries.",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"ContentText": "The strong growth in demand for IT professionals in the past decade prompted many firms to recruit abroad. Firms sponsor foreign professionals and bring them to the US through visas under the H-1B program, which can allow visa holders to work in the US for up to six years.",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
},
{
"TitleText": "Industry Employment Growth - Bureau of Labor Statistics",
"ImageURL": "http://www.firstresearch.com/Customers/reports/includes01/COIT/COIT-empgrw.jpg",
"ImportanceLevel": 3
},
{
"TitleText": "Average Hourly Earnings & Annual Wage Increase - Bureau of Labor Statistics",
"ImageURL": "http://www.firstresearch.com/Customers/reports/includes01/COIT/COIT-ernwge.jpg",
"ImportanceLevel": 4
}
]
}]}
]
},
{
"ChapterName": "Industry Websites",
"ChapterContentDetail": [
{"SubChapterDetail": [{"SubChapterName": "Recent News"}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Industry Sites",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"TitleText": "Canada IT",
"ContentText": "News, events, funding sources, and employment resources for the IT industry.",
"WebPageURL": "http://www.canadait.com/cfm/index.cfm",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"TitleText": "CDW IT Monitor",
"ContentText": "Bi-monthly IT industry outlook.",
"WebPageURL": "http://www.cdwitmonitor.com/",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
},
{
"TitleText": "Computerworld",
"ContentText": "Latest news, features, and opinions of IT, software, and computers.",
"WebPageURL": "http://www.computerworld.com",
"ImportanceLevel": 3
},
{
"TitleText": "Forrester Research ",
"ContentText": "Industry research and news. ",
"WebPageURL": "http://www.forrester.com",
"ImportanceLevel": 4
},
{
"TitleText": "Gartner",
"ContentText": "Industry research and news.",
"WebPageURL": "http://www.gartner.com",
"ImportanceLevel": 5
},
{
"TitleText": "Government Computer News",
"ContentText": "Government IT news. See especially the State & Local section.",
"WebPageURL": "http://www.gcn.com/",
"ImportanceLevel": 6
},
{
"TitleText": "Information Technology Association of Canada",
"ContentText": "Media, research, events, and blog.",
"WebPageURL": "http://www.itac.ca/",
"ImportanceLevel": 7
},
{
"TitleText": "Information Technology Industry Council",
"ContentText": "News and IT government relations resources.",
"WebPageURL": "http://www.itic.org/",
"ImportanceLevel": 8
},
{
"TitleText": "InformationWeek ",
"ContentText": "News. ",
"WebPageURL": "http://www.informationweek.com/",
"ImportanceLevel": 9
},
{
"TitleText": "ITworld",
"ContentText": "IT news, topics, and links. ",
"WebPageURL": "http://www.itworld.com/",
"ImportanceLevel": 10
},
{
"TitleText": "TechAmerica",
"ContentText": "Articles, news, publications, government affairs, calendars, and events. ",
"WebPageURL": "http://www.techamerica.org/",
"ImportanceLevel": 11
},
{
"TitleText": "TechWeb ",
"ContentText": "News and technology on segments of electronic industry, like networks, wireless, and e-business. ",
"WebPageURL": "http://www.techweb.com/ ",
"ImportanceLevel": 12
},
{
"TitleText": "The McKinsey Quarterly",
"ContentText": "Prescriptive IT articles.",
"WebPageURL": "http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Business_Technology",
"ImportanceLevel": 13
}
]
}]}
]
},
{
"ChapterName": "Quarterly Industry Update",
"ChapterContentDetail": [
{
"TitleText": "Challenge: Moderate Growth Forecast for IT Services",
"ContentText": "Information technology services in the US could grow by nearly 4 percent in 2013 compared to 2012, according to the latest industry forecast for First Research from INFORUM. The forecast is well below industry growth trends in 2010 and 2011, which respectively saw increases of 7.5 percent and 6.2 percent. Some industry segments are nonetheless poised for significant improvement. For instance, outsourced cloud computing services are expected to claim by nearly 50 percent in 2012, according to Gartner. Conversely, data center outsourcing - a more mature market - will likely decline.",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"TitleText": "Industry Impact",
"ContentText": "European debt issues and slowing Chinese exports will continue to impact overall IT outsourcing, though industry observers anticipate strong growth in the emerging Asia/Pacific region.",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
}
]
},
{
"ChapterName": "Trends and Opportunities",
"ChapterContentDetail": [
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Business Trends",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"TitleText": "Global Standardization ",
"ContentText": "The global adoption of e-commerce business practices has widened the scope and scale of the IT industry. International laws and regulations on policy issues like taxation, privacy, security, and encryption are slowly being implemented. With Europe and Japan quickly catching up to the US in terms of computer technology use, including wireless and high-speed broadband technology, the need for service and product standardization is being addressed.",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"TitleText": "Foreign IT Workers ",
"ContentText": "Many IT companies depend heavily on imported foreign workers on H-1B visas, which can be awarded to highly trained foreign workers, if American workers with similar skills can’t be found. The current annual cap on the H-1B category is 65,000, but the H-1B Visa Reform Act of 2004 makes available each year 20,000 additional H-1B visas for foreign workers with a master's or higher level degree from a US academic institution.",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
},
{
"TitleText": "Offshore Outsourcing ",
"ContentText": "Solutions providers, software companies, and integrators are tapping into global IT resources to bolster competitiveness by partnering with foreign firms. Outsourcing services, especially, make more use of offshore operations, of which India is a major provider. Computer Sciences Corporation, for instance, has increased its investment in offshore resources to better compete with offshore outsourcers. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 3
}
]
}]},
{"SubChapterDetail": [ {
"SubChapterName": "Industry Opportunities",
"SubChapterContentDetail": [
{
"TitleText": "Security Systems ",
"ContentText": "The heightened focus on security will provide additional opportunities for IT companies, which will be called on to design and implement new computerized security systems for both businesses and governments. Systems are needed both for physical security and to protect computers against viruses, hackers, and intelligence intrusions. Public sector customers are particularly interested in IT systems that offer a solid security component.",
"ImportanceLevel": 1
},
{
"TitleText": "Networks, Wireless Systems ",
"ContentText": "The rapid evolution of business networks to include wireless devices has created new opportunities for IT firms. Internet and intranet systems that allow mobile and wireless access are in stronger demand and often require IT consulting to implement. IT professionals are being called on more often to help customers integrate their wireless communications with their computing and content needs.",
"ImportanceLevel": 2
},
{
"TitleText": "E-Commerce Increases IT Needs ",
"ContentText": "Companies hoping to gain a strong edge in the new economy are launching e-business initiatives that require significant new investments in IT solutions. Firms will need solutions for interpreting and transferring data online, which will increase IT services. Customer relationship management systems, for instance, enable companies to find and retain profitable customers while enhancing their cross-selling capabilities.",
"ImportanceLevel": 3
},
{
"TitleText": "Next-Generation Digital Technology",
"ContentText": "Next-generation digital technology like wikis and blogs are opening important doors for IT firms. Companies increasingly need to offer collaboration and sharing mechanisms to their employees, suppliers, and clients. For instance, an IT firm can create a custom blog program for a customer that allows employees to share best practices in real time. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 4
},
{
"TitleText": "Growing State Government Market ",
"ContentText": "Pressured to reduce costs due to tight budgets, more states are outsourcing computer functions and data processing. State governments are also looking to IT firms to help implement federally mandated programs such as Medicaid. These contracts do not always go well and often come with a certain amount of risk, however. States are taking a harder look at IT contracts after complaints about costs, quality, and usability. ",
"ImportanceLevel": 5
}
]
}]}
]
}
],
"RelatedIndustryCode": [
{
"@DNBCodeValue": 25838,
"@TypeText": "D&B Hoovers Industry Code",
"IndustryCode": "1071",
"IndustryCodeDescription": [ {
"@IndustryCodeDescriptionLengthCode": 9120,
"$": "Consulting Services"
}]
},
{
"@DNBCodeValue": 25838,
"@TypeText": "D&B Hoovers Industry Code",
"IndustryCode": "1121",
"IndustryCodeDescription": [ {
"@IndustryCodeDescriptionLengthCode": 9120,
"$": "Computer Software"
}]
},
{
"@DNBCodeValue": 25838,
"@TypeText": "D&B Hoovers Industry Code",
"IndustryCode": "1225",
"IndustryCodeDescription": [ {
"@IndustryCodeDescriptionLengthCode": 9120,
"$": "Education & Training Services"
}]
},
{
"@DNBCodeValue": 25838,
"@TypeText": "D&B Hoovers Industry Code",
"IndustryCode": "1299",
"IndustryCodeDescription": [ {
"@IndustryCodeDescriptionLengthCode": 9120,
"$": "Accounting Services"
}]
}
]
}]},
"ArchiveDetail": {"PortfolioAssetID": 2591397}
}
}
}}
Legend: [C] = may be included in a Custom Data product; [M] = may be referenced by the Monitoring process; [M+] = Monitored using an aggregate or attribute XPath.
Lists of possible values (when present) are subject to change. Additional values not presented in this documentation may be delivered in the response and should be anticipated in any implementation.
Empty/NULL Values
A NULL returned for an element indicates that the information was not provided to D&B when the related data items were collected. The absence of a value for a particular item should not be considered indicative of any implied value (e.g., NULL for a boolean indicator is NOT the same as a value of 'false').
Response Codes & Error Handling
Successful service requests will return a CM000 response code in the TransactionResult ResultID field. Otherwise, one of the D&B Direct standard response codes will be returned.
This operation may return the following response codes: CM001-CM005, CM007-CM012, CM014, CM017, CM018, PD001, PD003, PD005, PD006, PD015, PD016,PD019 and SC001-SC012.
IMPORTANT: PD006 code - Applicable only for US/CA cases when TradeUpIndicator="true" for Risk packets.
D&B Direct 2.0 API requests are provided on a metered basis; and may require entitlement prior to use in the production environment. In addition, a concurrency limit (QPS) is monitored to ensure that it is not exceeded. An error code will be returned in the event that a transaction is throttled.
Qualified usage (e.g., a successful response) is tracked and billed according to the terms & conditions of the customer's contract. The response codes CM000, CM010, PD002 and PD015 are considered successful. A built-in feature exists to prevent duplicate billing when multiple successful requests with the same D-U-N-S Number and product code are submitted on the same calendar day (which is based on Eastern Standard Time [GMT-5]).
Retrieving Archived Copies
An option exists to retain the results from all successful requests for this product in a Product Request Archive, which may be retrieved without incurring additional usage charges.
NOTE: The default value for ArchiveProductOptOutIndicator is 'true', indicating that the request will NOT be automatically archived.
Business Elements
While D&B Direct uses a product canonical naming model in the request/response, many customers may be more familiar with the following business element labels.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Business Challenge Question | Text recording a question of interest related with the chapter content. [C] |
| Business Opportunities Question | Text recording a question of interest related with the chapter content. [C] |
| D&B Industry Code (Industry Report) | An alphanumeric value identifying a business activity based on the scheme specified by the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code. The first four digits are external codes created by the U.S. Government. D&B has created extensions to more precisely define an activity as in the case of the SIC 2+2 (the last 4 digits of an 8-digit SIC). [C] |
| Executive Talking Points Chapter Name | Text recording key executive talking points regarding the industry. [C] |
| Executive Talking Points Contact Job Description | Text that denotes a position held by the principal or manager to whom the question is directed. [C] |
| Executive Talking Points Question (Call Prep) | Text recording a question of interest related with the chapter content. [C] |
| Executive Talking Points Title (Focus Issue) | Executive Insight consists of specific talking points relevant to the CEO, CFO, CIO, HR professionals and Sales and Marketing Executives. It provides tips for creating conversations around a solution to a problem instead of a product. Executive Insight offers an industry-wide focus and is not specific to a single company. [C] |
| Fast Facts Chapter Name | Text recording facts about the industry. [C] |
| Fast Facts Title (Fact) | Fast Facts highlight key facts and figures for an industry in areas such as revenue, customers, top companies, services, and products. It provides insight into the industry's current state. [C] |
| Industry Code Description (Industry Report) | Text that describes the business activity based on the scheme specified by the attribute type, e.g., 'highway and street construction' is the description of industry code 1611 in the U.S. SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) system. [C] |
| Industry Profile Chapter Name | Name of the First Research industry profile chapter. [C] |
| Industry Profile Details | First Research industry chapter paragraph text [C] |
| Industry Profile Image Link | Text that records the location of images referenced by this Web-based content. [C] |
| Industry Profile Key Fact | [C] |
| Industry Profile Related Industry Code | Associated Industry Codes are corresponding codes from government classification systems and can be used to search for businesses in this industry. [C] |
| Industry Profile Related Industry Description | [C] |
| Industry Profile Site Link | Text that records the location of this Web-based content. [C] |
| Industry Profile Subchapter Details | Subchapter text of First Research Industry profile. [C] |
| Industry Profile Subchapter Image Link | Text that records the location of images referenced by this Web-based content. [C] |
| Industry Profile Subchapter Key Fact (Bullet) | [C] |
| Industry Profile Subchapter Site Link | Text that records the location of this Web-based content. [C] |
| Industry Profile Subchapter Title | Title of subchapter of First Research Industry subchapter. [C] |
| Industry Profile Title | First Research industry chapter paragraph title text [C] |
| Key Business Challenges Chapter Name | Text recording the key business challenges of the industry. [C] |
| Key Business Challenges Details | Business Challenges are descriptions of an industry's pain points. Business Challenges can be used to tailor products and services to a prospect or customer's needs. Updated quarterly. [C] |
| Key Business Challenges Title | Title of a Key Business Challenge. May repeat multiple times. [C] |
| Key Business Opportunities Chapter Name | Text recording the key business opportunities of the industry. [C] |
| Key Business Opportunities Details | Text description of a First Research Key Business opportunity. [C] |
| Key Business Opportunities Title | Title of a Key Business Opportunity. May repeat multiple times. [C] |
| NAICS Code (Industry Report) | An alphanumeric value identifying a business activity based on the NAICS Industry Code. [C] |
| UK SIC Code (Industry Report) | An alphanumeric value identifying a business activity based on the UK SIC Industry Code. [C] |
| US SIC Code (Industry Report) | An alphanumeric value identifying a business activity based on the US SIC Industry Code. [C] |
The preceding list is not presented in the order, nor manner, in which the information is packaged and delivered via the D&B Direct API. Legend: [C] = may be included in a Custom Data product; [M] = may be referenced by the Monitoring process; [M+] = Monitored using an aggregate or attribute XPath.
Product Notes
Industry profiles are updated quarterly and comprehensively reviewed once a year. News articles and most statistical data are updated monthly. All industry forecast numbers come from the INFORUM modeling data base, which is built on historic data derived from official government figures.
The chapter information available will only be returned if a value for the chapter name is specified in the request.
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