Global IT spending to grow 6.2% in 2018, hit $3.7 trillion: Gartner

Global IT spending is projected to hit total $3.7 trillion in 2018 -- an increase of 6.2 per cent from 2017, market research firm Gartner said on Monday.

"Although global IT spending is forecast to grow 6.2 per cent this year, the declining US dollar has caused currency tailwinds which are the main reason for this strong growth," John-David Lovelock, Vice President of Research at Gartner, said in a statement.

Enterprise software spending is forecast to experience the highest growth in 2018 with an 11.1 per cent increase.

The software industry is expected to continue capitalising on the evolution of digital business while application software spending is expected to continue to rise through 2019 and infrastructure software will also continue to grow.

"This is the highest annual growth rate that Gartner has forecast since 2007 and would be a sign of a new cycle of IT growth. Through 2018 and 2019, the US dollar is expected to trend stronger due to the uncertain political environment, the North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiation and the potential for trade wars," Lovelock added.

Meanwhile, global spending on data centre systems is forecast to grow 3.7 per cent in 2018 -- down from 6.3 per cent in 2017.

Spending for devices sush as PCs, tablets and mobile phones is forecast to grow in 2018, reaching $706 billion -- an increase of 6.6 per cent from 2017.

"The device market continues to see dual dynamics. Some users are holding back from buying, and those that are buying are doing so, on average, at higher price points," Lovelock noted.

"As a result, end-user spending will increase faster than units through 2022. However, total end-user spending and unit shipments are expected to be lower compared with previous forecasts as demand for ultramobile premium devices, ultramobile utility devices and basic phones is expected to be slow," Lovelock added.