Global IT spend sags

The worldwide IT market will fall 0.5 per cent in value in 2016 to $3.49tn, according to revised Gartner figures.

The market watcher had previously forecasted 0.5 per cent rise in the year, but currency fluctuation put paid to that earlier notion.

Optimisation as opposed to big cost-cutting is the key IT spending theme "As an example, the savings from legacy system optimization and enhancements are being redirected to fund digital initiatives. It's about doing more with the same funds," said John-David Lovelock, research vice president at Gartner.

"The need to spend on digital business initiatives in a time when revenue growth does not support runaway IT budgets is forcing more organizations to optimize as a first step."