Where Industry and Security Intersect
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While U.S. companies face significant competitive pressure in some markets and product lines, survey data show that companies are largely positive on their prospects for competing effectively in the years ahead.
U.S. AT executives were asked to predict how their overall competitive prospects would change in the next five years. More than 72 percent of the companies responding to the question anticipated that their businesses would grow to some degree–with 34.8 percent expecting conditions to "improve greatly" and another 37.5 percent expecting their prospects to "improve somewhat."
Another 27 percent of surveyed firms said business would be flat or shrink. Specifically, 21 percent of companies forecast that business prospects would "stay the same." Another 5 percent projected business to "decline somewhat"–and less than one percent of respondents stated that business would "decline greatly."
Unfortunately, it is not clear which if any market forces are driving this apparent optimism for the future. The business confidence expressed by most respondents may have been generated in part by the economic boom occurring at the time the survey was conducted.
Is the bright market outlook held by survey participants skewed? While it may be difficult to predict the future, AT firms are keenly aware of demographic trends–the aging of large populations of people in Asia, Europe, North America, and other parts of the world.
In addition, U.S. AT companies recognize that there is growing public awareness of both the need for and utility of AT products–and a proliferation of product types as well. All these factors point to surging demand for AT products over the next several decades. As a consequence, many companies are optimistic about the future.