According to a new brief by Forrester Research B.V., the IT technology gap between Europe and the US will grow by 4.5 percent this year. Based on GDP growth projection, historical spending trends, and proprietary research into industry confidence, Forrester's yearly ICT benchmark predicts a decline of 0.4 percent in real terms in Europe's ICT spending. Senior Analyst Charles Homs said, "By 2004, ICT will only form 6.9 percent of the European economy, compared with 9.6 percent for the US. While Germany will remain the largest European economy for the next three years, its ICT industry won't follow suit.

Do Single Parent Families Short Suit Childrens’ Education If the Education Industry is in your sights, here are some interesting facts about the importance of the responsibility and makeup or family in children’s success. Cheryl Russell, editorial director, New Strategist Publications has assembled a series of facts that argues for affirmative action in cases where the family structure might actually be a deterrent to educational success.

The latest findings from Jupiter Research reveal that companies are failing to meet basic consumer expectations for service via e-mail which is resulting in shoppers turning to the telephone for customer service. While 88% of consumers surveyed expect a response to e-mail inquiries within 24 hours, only 54% of companies sampled in Jupiter Research's latest Customer Service Webtrack met these expectations, the same percentage as in 2001, despite the fact that CRM spending continues to rise.