Global fin crisis to slow worldwide 2009 IT spending

Worldwide spending on information technology, especially in the United States will slow "significantly" in 2009 due to the global financial crisis, a leading IT market intelligence firm has forecast.      

Worldwide IT spending will grow 2.6% year over year in 2009, down from the pre-crisis forecast of 5.9% growth, according to a newly revised forecast from IDC.      

In the United States, IT spending growth is expected to be 0.9% in 2009, much lower than the 4.2% growth forecast in August.      

"Although all the economic forecasts went from up slightly to down drastically in a matter of days, the good news is that IT is in a better position than ever to resist the downward pull of a slowing economy," said John Gantz, chief research officer at the IDC.       

"Technology is already deeply embedded in many mission-critical operations and remains critical to achieving further efficiency and productivity gains. As a result, IDC expects worldwide IT spending will continue to grow in 2009, albeit at a slower pace."        

On a regional basis, spending growth in Japan, Western Europe, and the US will hover around one per cent in 2009.

In contrast, the emerging economies of Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America will continue to experience healthy growth, but at levels notably lower than the double-digit gains previously forecast.        

On a sector basis, software and services will enjoy solid growth while hardware spending, with the exception of storage, is expected to decline in 2009, the IDC said in a press release.