Computer System Design Services
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 46,700 computer system design services providers in the US integrate computer hardware, software, and communication technologies. Types of services include computer systems design, development, and integration; customer application design and development; and IT technical consulting and support. Firms may also provide services related to network development and design, cybersecurity, and communications.
Dependence on Skilled Labor
The computer system design services industry relies on a highly skilled, highly paid workforce, which includes computer and software engineers, programmers, systems integrators, and management with experience in information technology.
Rapid Advances in Technology
The computer and information systems management industry is characterized by rapid advances in technology that create volatility and uncertainty.
Industry size & Structure
The average computer system design service provider operates out of a single location, employs about 24-25 workers, and generates about $4-5 million annually.
- The computer system design services industry consists of about 46,700 companies that employ over 1 million workers and generate over $204 billion annually.
- The industry is concentrated at the top and fragmented at the bottom; the top 50 companies account for 55% of industry revenue.
- Large firms, which include IBM, GDIT, and Unisys, typically have global operations.
Industry Forecast
Computer System Design Services Industry Growth
Recent Developments
May 1, 2023 - Biden Administration Sets Cybersecurity Strategy Implementation Target
- The White House plans to release its implementation plan for the new National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS) in June. The NCS seeks to rebalance the responsibility to defend cyberspace by shifting the burden for cybersecurity away from individuals, small businesses, and local governments, and onto the organizations that are most capable and best positioned to reduce risks, according to a White House statement. Computer systems design services may be among the entities facing greater cybersecurity burdens. The initiative is intended to expand the use of minimum security standards for critical infrastructure and establish a common set of regulations to make it easier to comply with that baseline. It would also shift some liability for software and services to developers that ignore recommended cybersecurity practices or ship products with known vulnerabilities. A safe harbor provision would protect companies that make a sincere effort to develop secure products.
- Phishing, business email compromise, and ransomware still rank among the most popular cyberattack techniques, but a mix of alternative attacks is increasing, according to cybersecurity and compliance company Proofpoint. “... many threat actors have shifted to techniques such as telephone-oriented attack delivery and adversary in the middle phishing proxies that bypass multi-factor authentication,” said Ryan Kalember, executive vice president of cybersecurity strategy at Proofpoint. “These techniques have been used in targeted attacks for years, but 2020 saw them deployed at scale.” About 76% of organizations surveyed by Proofpoint were targeted by a ransomware attack in 2022. About 64% of those targeted were actually infected. Only 50% of these organizations managed to retrieve their data after paying the ransom. A little over 66% of respondents reported to have had multiple, isolated infections.
- Data center leaders, including computer systems design services, are becoming much more creative about managing equipment density and improving airflow management, according to Lars Strong, Senior Engineer at Upsite Technologies. The moves may provide an opportunity, as just 46% of respondents to the latest AFCOM State of the Data Center survey said that their current cooling solution meets all of their requirements. More firms are looking at converged systems, improving airflow with unique containment solutions, and even turning to liquid cooling to help offset traditional cooling requirements, the survey found.
- Hackers are turning to traditional IT remote monitoring and management tools to execute cyberattacks on businesses and other organizations. Legitimate monitoring and management tools used by organizations including computer system design services are being used by hackers to discover client-side applications and to conduct exploitation/post-exploitation activities. “The problem of course, is their effectiveness for legitimate security professionals make them effective for cybercriminals who crack them to remove any licensing requirements to use for free,” according to Chris Clements, vice president of solutions architecture at cybersecurity firm Cerberus Sentinel. “There are numerous hacker malware packages that are great for controlling computers, but they run the risk of being detected and removed by endpoint protection tools like anti-virus software and endpoint detection and response software,” Clements said. “Remote monitoring and management tools by and large eliminate this possibility as they are very often deployed for legitimate IT administration purposes.”
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