Western European IT spending to recover in 2017 after Brexit wobble - Gartner

IT spending in the region to be flat this year

Western European IT spending will recover in 2017 following a blip this year caused mostly by the Brexit vote, according to Gartner.

Gartner predicts that IT spending in western Europe this year will be "essentially flat" at $791bn (£636bn), a slight increase of 0.2 per cent on last year, as the Brexit vote continues to dent consumer and business confidence.

The market watcher is however predicting a recovery in 2017, with spending set to hit $804bn, a 1.6 per cent increase.

"When the prices of goods increase, consumers and businesses shift their buying patterns, and the simple reaction is to buy less well-featured products," said Gartner research vice president John-David Lovelock.

"But now that there are viable cloud offerings in the UK, organisations are also able to shift their spending into different areas - to buy computing as a service, instead of servers. These shifts will play out further in 2017.

"Banks in France and Germany have increased their spending on software and consulting in 2016 to attract, or at least be ready for, any banking activity shifting away from London."

Gartner expects services to remain the largest revenue segment in western European IT spending, with a 3.8 per cent increase to $292bn this year and a further 4.1 per cent increase to $304bn next year.

Smartphone shipments are expected to increase next year, driven by new entrants in the market, mostly from China, looking to target the "affordable premium range".

Gartner expects smartphone sales to increase one per cent to 147 million units this year and by a further 4.7 per cent next year.

Further PC shipment declines are expected, with a three per cent drop forecasted for 2017.