Uncertain future

Business climate in the digital industry remains stable

Business in the digital sector was slightly better in October than in September, but the outlook for the coming months is still characterized by uncertainty. The current business situation of IT and telecommunications companies was just under 35 points in October, four points higher than in September. However, business expectations for the coming months fell by a good three points to -18.4 points. Business expectations had already fallen by ten points in September. This is shown by the Bitkom-ifo Digital Index. The index tracks the current business situation and business expectations for the next three months and uses this to calculate the business climate. At 6.5 points, the business climate remains positive and almost unchanged from the previous month (6.4 points).

For the economy as a whole, the ifo Institute reports a business climate of -15.6 points. "The digital industry is proving to be more crisis-proof than the bulk of the German economy. On the one hand, because their own processes are already largely digital and therefore less susceptible to crises, and on the other, because customers are demanding their services in order to make themselves crisis-proof," says Bitkom President Achim Berg. "However, the digital industry cannot completely decouple itself from overall economic development in the face of persistent inflation, energy crisis and declining demand."