You are here > Home > News
IT spending 'to rise by 3.7 per cent in 2012'
IT News |
10/01/2012
After something of a recovery during 2011, a continued increase in IT spending has been predicted for the coming 12 months.
IT analyst Gartner believes spending on information technology will rise from $3.8 trillion (£2.38 trillion) to $3.8 trillion (£2.45 trillion) during 2012.
The firm said businesses will continue to invest in a range of solutions and services this year in a bid to return to growth.
However, external economic factors are set to have an impact on the level of investment, Gartner predicted.
Faltering global economic growth, the eurozone crisis and the impact of Thailand's floods on hard-disk drive production have all taken their toll on the outlook for IT spending, it added.
As such, the analyst has made a downwards revision to its growth forecast for 2012.
Last year, the company predicted a 4.6 per cent increase in spending for this year, on the back of a 6.9 per cent rise between 2010 and 2011.
But Gartner now expects overall industry revenues to rise by 3.7 per cent, still positive but not quite the figures originally hoped for.
A rise in spending has been forecast in all four major technology sectors; computing hardware, enterprise software, IT services and telecommunications equipment and services.
Telecom equipment spending is projected to show the strongest growth, with revenue increasing by 6.9 per cent in 2012.
Enterprise software is expected to be the next best performer, with Gartner anticipating growth of 6.4 per cent this year.
Richard Gordon, research vice-president at Gartner, said the Thai floods would lead to lower hard drive production rates in the short to mid-term.
"Thailand has been a major hub for hard-drive manufacturing, both for finished goods and components," he explained.
"We estimate the supply of hard drives will be reduced by as much as 25 per cent (and possibly more) during the next six to nine months."
He said that rebuilding the destroyed manufacturing facilities will also take time and the effects of this will continue to ripple throughout 2012 and very likely into 2013.
Posted by Jon Aspinell
------------------------------------------------------------------------
IT Recruitment Agency - Transparent Recruitment Fees Since 1999 - 12.5% Fee / 3 Month, 100% Rebate.
Sign up to our e-newsletter service to receive our headline news directly to your inbox
