SINGAPORE and HONG KONG: IDC's Industry Insights companies, a series of industry-specific research and advisory business units, on Thursday announced the inclusion of critical data and projections from three of its business units - Energy Insights, Government Insights, and Health Industry Insights - in two strategic government stimulus reports used by the Obama transition team.



Research from energy insights and health industry insights was used in a report, The Digital Road to Recovery: A Stimulus Plan to Create Jobs, Boost Productivity and Revitalize America, by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), said a press release.



For the report, energy insights developed spending forecasts for intelligent grid projects using three different economic stimulus scenarios.



These forecasts were used by ITIF to estimate the number of jobs that would be created by increased intelligent grid spending.



The intelligent grid is one of the top energy priorities of the Obama administration's economic stimulus plan, said the release.



The energy insights' input resulted in data projecting that a $50 billion additional investment in the smart grid over five years would create 238,745 new jobs, it added.



Doubling the investment to $100 billion over five years would create 477,490 new jobs.



Health industry insights data predicted the estimated costs of the complete transition to electronic health records (EHR) for all inpatient and ambulatory care providers to reach $7.6 billion annually over the next 15 years.



According to health industry insights analysis, spending in this area will grow at approximately 4.5 per cent annually over the next five years.



However, tightening credit markets and the downturn in the U.S. economy mean that spending on these projects is likely to be lower than expected, and capital expenditures on health IT could even decline in 2008, absent government support through a stimulus measure, said the release.



In a separate a White House document from the Office of Management and Budget, Government Insights predictions served as an input for planning $25 billion enterprise infrastructure spending. Government Insights forecasts a healthy $3 billion increase in the federal IT budget for 2009.



Government Insights forecasts a healthy $3 billion increase in the federal IT budget for 2009, said the release.



"It is our belief that technology investments are a cornerstone to creating new jobs, increasing efficiency across industries, and stimulating the economy. This is particularly important as Asia/Pacific will be one of the key engines driving a global recovery from the current economic downtown", said Cort Isernhagen, vice president for industry insights Asia/Pacific.



"As IDC's Industry Insights research is frequently used to support business decisions by global governments, we believe that we will be assisting many Asia/Pacific governments to move their economies forward during this crisis," he added.



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