IBM chief positive about state of technology industry

IBM chief Louis V. Gerstner has told investors the current fright in the technology industry isn't as bad as it appears to be, and his company is set to prosper from a real boom in e-commerce.

"Despite the hand wringing and the 'sky is falling' mentality, the fact is that in the US in the first quarter of 2001, business investment in hardware and software grew a very healthy 11.3 per cent. That's no blackout, and it's certainly no washout," said Gerstner.

"We should not allow this bubble-bursting to mask the long-term perspective." He said that despite the dot-com collapse, "institutions of all sizes and types will make massive investments in networked technologies."