Global IT Spending To Grow 4 Percent in 2013, Gartner Says

Global IT spending is set to grow 4.2 per cent this year, a slower rate than in 2012 but outpacing expectations of flat growth in the world economy.

Spending in the IT sector is expected to hit $3.7 bn in 2013, up from $3.6bn in 2012, according to Gartner. Richard Gordon, managing VP at Gartner, suggested the expected 2013 growth figures are still disappointing for the IT sector.

“Three to four per cent is a really low rate historically, and actually it signifies the sector maturing a bit,” he said, according to an article in the Financial Times.

Still, growth in the IT sector will continue to outpace global economies. OECD recently cut its growth forecast for 2013, predicting average growth of 1.4 per cent for its 34 member economies.

Meanwhile, sales of PCs and tablets are set to continue to grow this year, although at a slower rate than previously expected. Gartner noted that spending on devices, including computers and tablets as well as phones and printers, is expected to grow 6.3 per cent to $666bn. This is lower than Gartner’s previous forecast of 7.9 per cent.

Gordon said the tablet market in particular had been hard hit by price competition from devices running Google’s Android software and a shift towards cheaper devices in emerging markets.

In its latest report, Gartner said PC sales continued to be affected by a move to tablets in the workplace.

Last year, IDC estimated that 106 million tablets would be sold in 2012. Apple also noted that it had sold more iPads in Q4 2011 than Hewlett-Packard sold PCs in the same period - 15.4m vs 14.7m.

Meanwhile, Gartner reported that spending on enterprise software is set to grow 6.4 per cent this year, driven by security, storage management and customer tracking software.

Melanie Rodier has worked as a print and broadcast journalist for over 10 years, covering business and finance, general news, and film trade news. Prior to joining Wall Street & Technology in April 2007, Melanie lived in Paris, where she worked for the International Herald ... View Full Bio