Global information technology (IT) spending will touch $3.7 trillion this year, growing by 6.2% from last year, according to the latest Worldwide IT Spending Forecast by Gartner.
Gartner has been tracking the global IT spending since 2007, and this year’s prediction marks the highest annual growth rate. The strong growth rate will invite more technology suppliers to the market, but Gartner still said that the decline in constant-currency growth might impact the forecast.
“This is the highest annual growth rate that Gartner has forecast since 2007 and would be a sign of a new cycle of IT growth. However, spending on IT around the world is growing at expected levels and is in line with expected global economic growth,” said John-David Lovelock, research vice president at Gartner. “Through 2018 and 2019, the U.S. dollar is expected to trend stronger while enduring tremendous volatility due to the uncertain political environment, the North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiation and the potential for trade wars.”
Enterprise software market will flourish this year, thanks to the projected 11.1% growth rate. The software industry will continue to capitalize in the growing digital businesses. With the modernization in legacy IT systems and implementation of new technologies like IoT, the spending on both application software and infrastructure software will continue to grow.
The spending on Data Center Systems will grow this year by only 3.7%, down from 6.3% in 2017. Growth in the storage segment in data center market might continue to suffer due to shortage of supply for components like memory chips and CPU chips, and unexpected rise in price.
Meanwhile, other markets like IT Services and Communication Services will witness a significant growth of 7.4% and 4.3%, respectively. The spending on Devices market will grow at an annual rate of 6.6% and reach $706 billion this year.
Image Source: Gartner
“The device market continues to see dual dynamics. Some users are holding back from buying, and those that are buying are doing so, on average, at higher price points,” said Mr. Lovelock.
Also read: Gartner identifies leaders in data science and machine learning in Magic Quadrant 2018
Gartner will further discuss about the key drivers of IT market at ‘Gartner Tech Growth & Innovation Summit’ in San Diego, CA, from 30th April to 2nd May, 2018.
