Software set to light up IT spending growth

Enterprise software spending will grow by 9.4 per cent next year, with IT services and devices markets also set for strong growth, according to Gartner

Enterprise software will lead an upturn in IT spending next year, according to Gartner.

The analyst has hoisted its global IT spending forecast in the wake of the weakening dollar, and now thinks total spending will rise by 3.3 per cent this year to $3.5tn, before jumping a further 4.3 per cent in 2018 to hit $3.7tn.

The devices segment will exhibit growth for the first time in two years, with a rise of 5.3 per cent in 2017 and five per cent in 2018, Gartner predicts.

However, it is enterprise software that will light up the market, with forecast growth of 8.5 and 9.4 per cent this year and next, respectively.

Total device spending will reach $697bn in 2018, with enterprise software ringing up spending of $387bn next year, according to the analyst.

IT services will provide another fast-growing sub-segment, Gartner predicts, with spending forecast to grow by four per cent this year and 5.3 per cent in 2018, to reach $980bn.

Datacentre systems will experience more modest growth, of 1.7 per cent this year and 1.8 per cent in 2018, to reach $176bn.

Similarly, communications services, by far the largest sub-segment, is on course to grow by a muted 0.9 per cent in 2017 and 2.2 per cent next year to reach $2.2tn, according to Gartner.

Gartner's global IT spending forecasts are to some extent, however, a slave to the fortunes of the US dollar. It slashed its 2017 spending growth forecast from 2.7 to 1.4 per cent in April due to the strengthening of the currency, only to raise it to 2.4 per cent in July and 3.3 per cent now as the US dollar rallied.