GEC NEWS WIREDriven by growth in software and IT services revenue, worldwide IT spending is forecast to reach $3.5 trillion in 2017, up 2.9 percent from 2016 estimated spending of $3.4 trillion, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc.
The bright spot for the IT industry has been the software and IT services segments. Software spending is projected to grow 6 percent in 2016, and it will grow another 7.2 percent in 2017 to total $357 billion (see Table 1). IT services spending is on pace to grow 3.9 percent in 2016 to reach $597 billion, and increase 4.8 percent in 2017 to reach $943 billion.
Worldwide IT Spending Forecast (Billions of U.S. Dollars)
| 2016 Spending | 2016 Growth (%) | 2017 Spending | 2017 Growth (%) | |
| Data Center Systems | 173 | 1.3 | 177 | 2.0 |
| Software | 333 | 6.0 | 357 | 7.2 |
| Devices | 597 | -7.5 | 600 | 0.4 |
| IT Services | 900 | 3.9 | 943 | 4.8 |
| Communications Services | 1,384 | -1.1 | 1,410 | 1.9 |
| Overall IT | 3,387 | -0.3 | 3,486 | 2.9 |
Source: Gartner (October 2016)
“The immediate impact of Brexit has caused modest growth in IT spending to turn negative for 2016,” said John-David Lovelock, Research Vice President at Gartner. “Without the U.K., global IT spending growth would have been modestly positive at 0.2 percent in 2016, but with the U.K. included, IT spending is expected to decrease 0.3 percent. The immediate impact of the British pound will also cause the IT spending patterns to shift as prices for IT will increase. We have also considered the U.S. presidential race, as well as a potential rate cut by the Federal Reserve. Typically, there is a slight pause in IT spending leading into the election, and then a relief in spending, subsequently. However, trends have shown that IT spending in the U.S. is not dependent on presidential leadership, so neither candidate should have a significant impact on IT spending in the near-term.”
