These estimates are always so ephemeral, but the numbers are no less scary. According to a report from Ferris Research, worldwide businesses will lose $50 billion in 2005, from lost productivity and other expenses in the fight against spam. US businesses' share is $17 billion, they say. The figure for 2005 is up 70% from 2003's estimate.
Analyst Richi Jennings says, "For developed countries, deploying competent spam filtering software makes good business sense," but for countries such as India and China, where spam volumes are lower and labor costs are way lower, software doesn't add up as well "simply because labor is so much cheaper."
