Worldwide IT spending is expected to increase 4 percent in 2022 to $4.4 trillion dollars, according to an updated forecast from information technology (IT) research and advisory firm Gartner. 

The bulk of the budgets will go to communications services and IT services, which are forecast to record $1.4 trillion and $1.26 trillion in spending, respectively. Investments in software and devices will hit $824 billion and $674 billion, respectively, while data centre systems will see $218 billion in spending. 

Gartner had previously forecast that global IT spending could reach $4.5 trillion in 2022, an increase of 5.1 percent from the previous year. 

While the revised forecast is slightly lower, Gartner said this year will still be “one of the noisiest years on record” for CIOs, which are responsible for the implementation of information and computer technologies in businesses and other entities. 

According to John-David Lovelock, Gartner’s Research Vice President, CIOs are accelerating investments despite the current global uncertainties, as they recognise the importance of flexibility and agility in responding to disruptions. 

“Geopolitical disruption, inflation, currency fluctuations and supply chain challenges are among the many factors vying for their time and attention, yet contrary to what we saw at the start of 2020, CIOs are accelerating IT investments,” Lovelock said. 

“As a result, purchasing and investing preference will be focused in areas including analytics, cloud computing, seamless customer experience and security,” he said. 

Inflation 

The spending growth will also be driven by wage inflation in the IT industry. Companies are offering competitive salaries due to the current dearth of IT talent, and this has prompted technology service providers to increase their prices. 

Spending on software products is forecast to grow 9.8 percent, while IT services is expected to post a 6.8 percent rise, as digital transformation continues this year. 

Gartner also expects that digital business initiatives, such as “experiential end-consumer experience and optimisation” of supply chain will drive the double-digit growth in enterprise applications and infrastructure software spending in 2023. 

(Reporting by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Daniel Luiz ) 

Cleofe.maceda@lseg.com