Global IT spend to touch $3.68 tn this year: Gartner

Global IT spending is expected to grow 4.5 per cent to USD 3.68 trillion this year, research firm Gartner said today.
At about USD 3.52 trillion currently, it is expected to grow further by 2.7 per cent next year to touch USD 3.78 trillion.
"Global IT spending growth began to turn around in 2017, with continued growth expected over the next few years," Gartner Research Vice President John-David Lovelock said.
He cautioned however that uncertainty looms as organisations consider the potential impacts of Brexit, currency fluctuations and a possible global recession.
"Despite this uncertainty, businesses will continue to invest in IT as they anticipate revenue growth, but their spending patterns will shift," he noted.

Projects in digital business, blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), and progression from big data to algorithms to machine learning to artificial intelligence (AI) will continue to be main drivers of growth, Lovelock added.
Enterprise software is expected to continue growing at a strong pace at 9.5 per cent in 2018, and another 8.4 per cent in 2019 to total USD 421 billion at the end of two years.
The devices segment is expected to grow 5.6 per cent in 2018 to USD 704 billion, while data centre systems is forecast to expand to USD 179 billion, Gartner said.