Worldwide IT spending to grow 5.3% in 2010: Gartner

Worldwide IT spending is forecast to reach $3.4 trillion in 2010, a 5.3 per cent increase from IT spending of $3.2 trillion in 2009, according to IT research and advisory firm Gartner, Inc.

The IT industry would continue to show steady growth with IT spending in 2011 projected to surpass $3.5 trillion, a 4.2 per cent increase from 2010. Worldwide computing hardware spending is forecast to reach $353 billion in 2010, a 5.7 per cent increase from 2009. Robust consumer spending on mobile PCs would drive hardware spending in 2010.

Enterprise hardware spending would grow again in 2010, but it would remain below its 2008 level through 2014.

Worldwide software spending is expected to total $232 billion in 2010, a 5.1 per cent increase from last year.

Gartner analysts said the impact of the recession on the software industry was tempered and not as dramatic as other IT markets. In 2010, the majority of enterprise software markets would see positive growth.

The worldwide IT services industry is forecast to have spending reach $821 billion in 2010, up 5.7 per cent from 2009. The industry experienced some growth in reported outsourcing revenue at the close of 2009, an encouraging sign for service providers, which Gartner analysts believe would spread to consulting and system integration in 2010.

Worldwide telecom spending is on pace to total close to $2 trillion in 2010, a 5.1 per cent increase from 2009.

Between 2010 and 2014, the mobile device share of the telecom market is expected to increase from 11 per cent to 14 per cent, while the service share drops from 80 per cent to 77 per cent and the infrastructure share remains stable at 9 per cent of the total market.