Companies expect to spend less in IT hardware this year, but more in IT software and services
Today, research firm IDC revised downward its forecast for global IT spending this year, from 2.8 per cent to 0.5 per cent, reaching $1.44 trillion.
And in the U.S., IT spending is expected to grow only 0.1 per cent at $491 billion in 2009.
For IDC, the global recession greatest impact will be felt in hardware markets, where overall spending growth will be –3.6 per cent this year, led by a steep decline in sales of servers, PCs, and printers/MFPs.
In contrast, worldwide spending on software and IT services are each expected to grow 3.4% in 2009, down from 4.6% and 3.7% growth respectively in the previous forecast.
“Fourth quarter data from a number of key markets and geographies clearly shows that companies have been very quick to pull back their spending,” said John Gantz, chief research officer at IDC.
“The data also provides a clearer picture of how companies are curbing their expenditures. Investments in software and services are being maintained in pursuit of productivity and efficiency gains while hardware spending is being slashed in an attempt to stretch refresh cycles and squeeze more out of existing assets.”
