C I Host Web Hosting Survey: 2005 - Year of e-Business Growth

Small- to medium-sized businesses will expand in 2005 through capital investment and Internet marketing, while hiring will experience healthy increases according to the latest sample polled from C I Host's 215,000 clients worldwide.

C I Host (www.cihost.com), a provider in Web hosting and data center operation, today released survey results from its' clients - 20,859 responses from 120,000 U.S.-based e-commerce customers that were contacted.

"Businesses will pump up by increasing their Internet marketing and twenty-three percent also expect to hire new people," said Christopher Faulkner, CEO of C I Host. "Particularly interesting, fifty-three percent will increase overall IT spending -- which is great news for high tech in general."

While most of the survey was forward-looking, there was also a positive report card from the recent holiday season.

The C I Host survey respondents were verified e-businesses - equipped with electronic shopping cart systems on their Web sites.

Sixty percent had traditional "brick and mortar" locations, in addition to their e-businesses, indicating a fairly mainstream sample.

In the survey, 66 percent of respondents said their businesses will increase capital expenditures in 2005, and 53 percent expect to spend more on Internet marketing specifically.

Sixty-one percent said they will rebuild or revamp their Web sites in the coming year.

Overall, the majority of businesses expect improvements in the U.S. economy; 68 percent said 2005 will be a good year to expand their business; and 44 percent said gross revenues will increase.