Gartner Presents New Forecast for IT Spending

By: Zain Nabi  |   July 3rd, 2013   |   Business, News

Gartner, an information technology research and advisory firm, has released new forecast for IT spending for the current year, this time predicting less spending in the sector as compared to the forecast released earlier this year.

 

In 2012, the total spending in the IT sector was around $3.6 trillion. Last quarter, Gartner predicted growth in spending of around 4.1 per cent in 2013. However, the recent data have reduced figure and although growth is still predicted, its extent is declined. Now, Gartner has projected a growth of around 2 per cent in 2013 taking the numbers to around $3.6 trillion.

 

There is a difference of around 2.1 per cent in Gartner’s previous quarter projection and the recent one. This difference is due to impact of recent fluctuations in U.S. dollar exchange rates. Gartner managing vice president Richard Gordon said:

 

“Exchange rate movements, and a reduction in our 2013 forecast for devices, account for the bulk of the downward revision of the 2013 growth. Regionally, 2013 constant-currency spending growth in most regions has been lowered. However, Western Europe’s constant-currency growth has been inched up slightly as strategic IT initiatives in the region will continue despite a poor economic outlook.”

 

Earlier this year, there was a record decline observed in PC sales all over the world and it was predicted that the trend could continue in the days to come. This is one of the factors contributing towards less spending in the IT sector this year. According to Garter’s announcement:

 

“The forecast for spending on devices in 2013 has been revised down from 7.9 percent growth in Gartner’s previous forecast to 2.8 percent. The decline in PC sales, recorded in the first quarter of 2013, continued into the second quarter with little recovery expected during the second half of 2013. While new devices are set to hit the market in the second half of 2013, they will fail to compensate for the underlying weakness of the traditional PC market. The outlook for tablet revenue for 2013 is for growth of 38.9 percent, while mobile phone revenue is projected to increase 9.3 percent this year.”

 

Meanwhile, enterprise software spending is expected to grow 6.4 per cent this year as compared to the last year. Moreover, telecom services spending is also expected to grow slightly at about 0.9 per cent this year.