Global IT spending projected to hit $3.5trillion in 2017: Report

GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY

DUBAI, 20th July, 2017 (WAM) -- Worldwide IT spending is projected to total US$3.5 trillion in 2017, a 2.4 percent increase from 2016, according to an international report.

This growth rate is up from the previous quarter's forecast of 1.4 percent, due to the US currency decline against many foreign currencies, added the report, developed recently by Gartner, a leading research and advisory company.

"Digital business is having a profound effect on the way business is done and how it is supported," said John David Lovelock, Vice President and analyst at Gartner.

"The impact of digital business is giving rise to new categories; for example, the convergence of 'software plus services plus intellectual property.' These next-generation offerings are fueled by business and technology platforms that will be the driver for new categories of spending. Industry-specific disruptive technologies include the Internet of Things (IoT) in manufacturing, block-chain in financial services, along with other industries, and smart machines in retail. The focus is on how technology is disrupting and enabling business." The Gartner Worldwide IT Spending Forecast is the leading indicator of major technology trends across the hardware, software, IT services and telecom markets. For more than a decade, global IT and business executives have been using these highly anticipated quarterly reports to recognize market opportunities and challenges, and base their critical business decisions on proven methodologies rather than guesswork.