虽然美国处在经济衰退中，但数据挖掘这碗饭大家感觉还是可以感觉越吃越香；至少从业者的最近小样本survey这样表明。
物质商品生产和销售减缓或停滞了，挺可怕。可是，如果硬盘卖不出去了，或者卖出去的硬盘都闲置着、没什么东东可装，那才是最可怕的。还好，这种情况近期根 本不会发生。我们数据挖掘从业者，面对着身边越堆越多的硬盘和其中越装越多的数据（暂且甭管是好的还是坏的），扒分扒得正欢着呢。
http://www.kdnuggets.com/polls/2008/us-recession-effect-on-data-mining-demand.htm
KDnuggets : Polls : Effect of US Recession on Data Mining Demand (July 2008)
| Poll |
| The US economy is likely to be in a recession for a while. How do you expect this recession to affect the demand for data mining / analytic software and services in the US and worldwide? [113 votes total] |
| Significantly reduce demand (13) |
 12% |
| Slightly reduce the demand (32) |
 28% |
| No significant change (30) |
 27% |
| Increase the demand (38) |
 34% |
|
John Elder, Recession and Demand
Elder Research is, somewhat unexpectedly, experiencing a strong increase in demand for data mining. This is unlike the last recession where companies slashed from their budgets anything not perceived to be needed immediately. I hope it is because it is better understood now that the ROI (return on investment) of data mining actually makes it a great investment even in leaner times!
