Global IT spending to recover in 2010

IDC claims hardware spending will surge back next year, with software and services also set for a boost

Breaking the bank: firms will start spending more on IT again next year

IT spending is set to return to growth next year, with spending in all sectors set to rise, IDC has claimed.

The research house projects global IT spending will rise 3.2 per cent in 2010 to $3.2tn (£1.9tn), bringing the market back to 2008's levels. Hardware, software and services will all enjoy spending growth of between two and four per cent. IDC claims the hardware arena will see the most impressive recovery, after a testing 2009.

Emerging countries will provide much of the market's growth, with the BRIC countries predicted to see spending rise by as much as 13 per cent. Global telecommunications spending is forecast to grow by a solid three per cent.

Mobile devices and cloud-based delivery models were both singled out by IDC as technologies that would shape the face of the industry in 2010 and beyond. Reducing CO2 emissions is also expected to continue climbing up CIO's priority lists.

The research firm also indicated mergers, acquisitions and partnerships will be a noteworthy feature of the vendor landscape next year.

IDC chief analyst Frank Gens said: "In last year's predictions, we talked about how a slow global economy would act like a pressure cooker on the IT market, speeding the development and adoption of new technologies and business models.

"What is different about 2010 is that the economic recovery will release some of the pressure on spending, enabling a number of transformational tipping points to be reached in a year of economic upswing."