The name information technology was first used in 1958, in an article in the Harvard Business Review and since then, this industry has experienced only innovations throughout history. Some issues facing the industry are increased competition from offshore and inshore players, slow growth in hardware sales, decreasing IT spending globally, etc. But despite all the problems and challenges facing the industry, the opportunities are plentiful. One of the most important is the growing number of smart device users, which are emerging as a very profitable segment for the information technology segment. Industry trends and business cycles. The information technology industry is a very innovative segment as it has to meet the growing customer demand for technology issues and services. Cloud computing is currently a very common trend in this sector. According to a Gartner survey, 19% of organizations use cloud computing for the majority of their production IT. Furthermore, an interesting feature of this industry is the integration of smart devices. Nowadays, almost everyone in developed countries uses smartphones and tablets to access the Internet thanks to the advancements in these devices. The large number of users of smart devices has a very strong impact on information technology by shaping the structure of this industry to meet the demand for software, hardware and applications connected to these devices. Issues and Challenges • High competition and adaptation of the cloud computing market Cloud computing offers high profit margins which can attract many new players due to barriers to...... middle of paper ...... estopedia.com /terms/a/assetturnover.asp(nd). In Investopedia. Retrieved March 12, 2014 from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/dso.asp(nd). In Investopedia. Retrieved March 12, 2014 from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/profitmargin.asp(nd). In Investopedia. Retrieved March 12, 2014 from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/booktomarketratio.asp(nd). In Investopedia. Retrieved March 12, 2014 from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/currentratio.asp(nd). In Investopedia. Retrieved March 12, 2014 from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/q/quickratio.asp(nd). In InvestingAnswers. Retrieved March 12, 2014 from http://www.investinganswers.com/financial-dictionary/financial-statement-analysis/net-cash-flow-2313(nd). In Investopedia. Accessed March 12, 2014 from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/freecashflow.asp