OnForce Services Marketplace Index Shows IT Repair Services on the Rise

In tight economy consumers and businesses opt to “fix it first” rather than purchase new equipment

BOSTON – April 14, 2009OnForce , the trusted online marketplace and national network of thousands of technology service professionals, today released the OnForce Services Marketplace Index (OSMI) for the first quarter of 2009. The OSMI is a comprehensive analysis of nearly 70,000 service events this quarter across North America. Key findings include an increase in information technology (IT) and consumer electronic (CE) spending in diagnose and repair services.

With overall volume rising in Q1 2009 compared to Q1 2008, there was a significant increase of work orders generated through the OnForce marketplace that are classified in the .break-fix. service sector. Break-fix is largely composed of diagnose and repair service events. Services in this sector increased from 59 percent of total work orders in Q4 2008, to 63 percent in Q1 2009.

"Our marketplace index gives us a unique view into the current and future IT and CE landscape, and we're seeing businesses and consumers continue to look for innovative ways to save money during these challenging times," said Peter Cannone, CEO of OnForce. "As we predicted at the end of 2008, businesses and consumers are leveraging break-fix and repair services more than install, and many companies are continuing to look to outsourcing IT services, and turning to platforms such as OnForce, as a way to cut costs and improve their bottom lines."

With the upcoming digital television transition in June and lower prices for flat-panel televisions, OnForce's television and video category is cemented as one of the highest volume service categories, along with desktop computers and network services. Services in these areas accounted for over 50 percent of total work orders in Q1 2009. Meanwhile, lower volume categories included Point-of-Sale (POS), as many retailers typically invest heavily in POS in the Fall timeframe in advance of the holiday shopping season.

Other key findings include:

· Point of sale (POS) services decreased by 50% . from 14% of total work orders in Q4 2008 to
7% for Q1 2009. This can be partially attributed to seasonality as well as the increase in retail stores that have closed in the past quarter.

· Total work order volume increased 10% year over year.

· Television and video services increased in total work order percentage from 22% in Q4 2008 to 24% in Q1 2009.

· In order to curtail travel expenses, companies are conducting more meetings via video conferencing and making larger investments in projector technology.

· California, Texas, Illinois and Florida were among the largest onsite service economies; while Chicago, Houston and New York were the top three busiest cities for onsite service.

· The most expensive technology category was Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), with the average work order below $400.

The OSMI Q1 2009 report is available for download at http://www.onforce.com/OSMI/Q109 .

About OnForce

OnForce is service made simple. The company provides access to a trusted national network of over 12,000 onsite service providers connecting service demand with local supply through an online marketplace . easily, efficiently and profitably. Nearing one million completed service orders, OnForce is a proven leader in helping service buyers increase profits, gain a competitive advantage and contain service costs. The OnForce community is made up 5,000+ IT and CE service buyers and more than 12,000 service professionals who work in a number of technology categories, including computers, printers, networking, VoIP, point of sale and consumer electronics. For more information, visit www.onforce.com .

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