Most people with a college education would guess that the near-spectacular results posted by Research In Motion (RIMM) and Oracle (ORCL) are a sign that the broad tech industry has not been hit by the problems at financial services companies and banks.
But, what is hidden a bit is the breadth of strength still pushing tech along. Oracle and RIMM are at the opposite extremes of hardware and software sales. Oracle sells million dollar database management and customer control products and services. Their upgrade licenses can be worth many times the initial license, so revenue for one customer can stretch over several years.
At RIMM, the product is an "every man" business special. The Blackberry costs about $300 and the service fee is worth less than the price of a cup of coffee a day.
Both ends of tech are not just holding up. They are accelerating.
What will make the tech "trifecta" complete is a strong report on PC sales from Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) or Dell (DELL). Good news on Microsoft (MSFT) Vista or Office would do. Sales of PCs and servers are the great central avenue on the technology map. Companies big and small buy what MSFT and HPQ have to sell.
But, even without reports from the hardware operations, tech has legs.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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