Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2007/10/10/it_spending_research/
IT spending to top $3 trillion in 2007
But don't pop the champagne corks yet
Posted in Channel, 10th October 2007 09:23 GMT
Global spending on IT is set to reach $3.1 trillion this year, according to the latest research from analysts at Gartner.
The figure represents an eight per cent increase from the previous year, while spending for 2008 is forecast to grow 5.5 per cent, reaching a total of $3.3 trillion.
The figures were revealed at the opening of the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo in Orlando, Florida, on Monday. Gartner senior vice president and global head of research Peter Sondergaard told an audience of 6,000 IT decision-makers at the conference that they would have to be flexible with their budget planning for the coming years, in anticipation of a possible recession.
"The business plans that you had in June are probably not going to completely address the changed conditions of your business in November," he said. "Together with your business colleagues and your CEO you are going to have to deliver new efficiencies, new innovations and new ideas to sustain profitability and growth. IT will be core to many of those responses."
Gartner's figures also show that spending on IT continues to grow at a rapid pace in developing countries, with one-third of all spending now occurring outside of North America, Western Europe, and Japan.
Commenting on this development, Sondergaard said: "This will create new innovation in IT, new competitors, new usage patterns, and continued cost improvement benefits for users."
Gartner is also predicting that end-user spending will globally move towards software, services, and mobility. These categories made up 57 per cent of IT spending in 2006, but it is predicted this will become 60 per cent in 2008, and 63 per cent by 2011.
© 2007 ENN