IT spending by Asia-Pacific cos to top $312bn in 2011: Gartner

Enterprise IT spending in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to rebound in 2010 and grow further to $312.3 billion in 2011, research firm Gartner said today.

Following a 1.3 per cent decline in 2009, IT spending by corporates in the region is forecast to grow to $312.3 billion in 2011, an increase of 7.6 per cent compared to 2010, Gartner said in a statement.

"Growth in 2010 has been strong, due in part to pent-up demand following budget freezes in 2009 and the need to replace ageing hardware," Gartner Senior Vice-President and Global Head (Research) Peter Sondergaard said.

Going forward, software is expected to be the fastest growing segment (11.3 per cent) in the Asia-Pacific, followed by hardware (10.1 per cent), IT services (9.3 per cent) and telecommunications (7.6 per cent).

"Next year, we see a slowing trend in Asian growth, but one that is unlikely to develop into something more problematic and some countries, such as India and China, show no signs of slowing down," Sondergaard said.

After slowing down amid the global financial crisis in 2009, growth in manufacturing and supply chain industries in China and India picked up again in 2010, Sondergaard added.

Gartner said the healthcare sector, followed by utilities and education, are the verticals that are expected to show the strongest growth in IT spending in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Emerging economies continue to be the locomotive of enterprise IT spending, substantially outpacing developed economies," Sondergaard said.