IDC Points To 3 Percent Rise In IT Spending In 2010

Emerging markets such as India and China will drive a 3 percent increase in global IT spending during 2010, according to IDC.

In a report issued 3 February, IDC analysts said that continued worries around the global recession as well as tight cash and credit flow will hold down spending in more established regions, including the United States, where IT spending will grow less than 3 percent.

“Despite pent-up demand for upgrades and new applications following the deep spending cuts of the past year, economic uncertainty will combine with capital and credit constraints to inhibit spending in mature economies,” IDC analyst Stephen Minton said in a statement.

Worldwide IT spending will reach $1.48 trillion this year, slightly below the $1.5 trillion spent in 2008.

IDC’s numbers are slightly less optimistic than those put out by Gartner on 21 January. In that report, Gartner analysts said they expect spending to grow 4.6 percent, to $3.4 trillion, equalling what Gartner said was spent in 2008.

Gartner analysts said they were encouraged by the numbers, and hadn’t expected to see spending return to 2008 levels until 2011.

In a separate report 19 January, Gartner reported that CIOs worldwide – after having their budgets decline 8.1 percent in 2009 – will see budgets remain flat this year.

Globally, IDC analysts said hardware spending should increase 5 percent in 2010, with software growing 2 percent and IT services 3 percent.

PC spending will jump 3percent – up from an earlier forecast of 2 percent – and that outlooks for other hardware sectors, including servers, storage devices, and networking equipment also were raised, IDC analysts said.

Regionally, Asia/Pacific will see IT spending jump 6 percent, Eastern and Central Europe will see a 9 percent increase and the Middle East and Africa 12 percent.

Spending in Latin America will grow 5 percent.

Spending in Western Europe will be flat in 2010.