... Techconsult - supported by Gulp Information Services - from a monthly telephone survey of 200 companies with 10 to 999 employees from all sectors. Deviations from the ifo Institute's Business Climate Index are due to differences in methodology (direct comparison with the previous month and separate reporting of the situation and expectations in the IT SME Index) and different respondent groups: The IT SME Index examines all sectors exclusively from the SME sector, while the ifo Business Survey is limited to the manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail sectors and includes all size categories in the analysis.