Worldwide IT spending in 2013 will increase by 4.2 percent from 2012, totaling $3.7 trillion, according to Gartner
Worldwide IT spending in 2013 will increase by 4.2 percent from 2012, totaling $3.7 trillion, according to the forecast released on Thursday by Gartner.
Gartner has improved its outlook on global IT spend for 2013, which it predicted to increase only 3.8 percent in its forecast released in Q3 2012.
The spending increase can be attributed to projected gains in the value of foreign currencies versus the US dollar, Gartner said. Without this consideration, 2013 spending growth is forecast at 3.9 percent.
Aside from the gains in currency value, another contributing factor to increased worldwide IT spending is the fact that IT departments are no longer the gatekeeper of technology spending within enterprises. By 2020, Gartner predicts technology spending outside of IT to account for 90 percent of total technology spend.
Gartner’s Worldwide IT Spending Forecast takes into account technology trends across hardware, software, IT services and telecom markets.
Spending on enterprise software is forecast to reach $296 billion in 2013, a 6.4 percent increase from 2012. Enterprises will focus their budgets on security, storage management and customer relationship management through 2013, and will increase investments in big data initiatives in 2014.
Investment in data center systems will reach $147 billion in 2013, up 4.5 percent from 2012, and IT services will see a 5.2 percent increase in spending to $927 billion this year.
While mobile technology spend appears to be missing from the analysis, device spending (which includes PCs, tablets, mobile phones, and printers) is expected to reach $666 billion in 2013. Mobile research group Yankee Group, who was acquired by The 451 Group on Thursday, expects the mobile market to be a $3 trillion market opportunity by 2016.
“Uncertainties surrounding prospects for an upturn in global economic growth are the major retardants to IT growth,” said Richard Gordon, managing vice president at Gartner. “This uncertainty has caused the pessimistic business and consumer sentiment throughout the world. However, much of this uncertainty is nearing resolution, and as it does, we look for accelerated spending growth in 2013 compared to 2012.”
Gartner will present more detail and analysis on its outlook in a free webinar held on January 8 at 1 pm EST.
Talk back: Are you surprised by Gartner’s predictions for worldwide IT spending? What are your own predictions for spending in IT in 2013?Let us know in a comment.
About Nicole Henderson
Nicole Henderson is the Editor in Chief of the Web Host Industry Review where she covers daily news and features online, as well as in print. She has a bachelor of journalism from Ryerson University in Toronto. You can find her on Twitter @NicoleHenderson.
