07 Jul 2009
Global IT spending will decline by six per cent this year as a consequence of the recession and exchange rate variations, according to analyst Gartner.
Worldwide spend across hardware, software, IT services and telecommunications is set to reach $3.2tr (£2tr) in 2009, down $200bn from $3.4tr in 2008, says the analyst.
Gartner notes that the decline in the four major segments of IT did not happen in the 2001 downturn.
The hardware industry will be the hardest hit according to the statistics, with a projected spending slump of 16.3 per cent. By comparison, the software segment will see a slight decline of 1.6 per cent.
"While the global economic downturn shows signs of easing, this year IT budgets are still being cut and consumers will need a lot more persuading before they can feel confident enough to loosen their purse strings," said Gartner’s research vice president and head of global forecasting, Richard Gordon.
"The forecast decline in spending growth for the hardware and software segments in 2009 has almost stabilised, and only minor downward revisions have been made to these forecasts this quarter," said Gordon.
"However, the full impact of the global recession on the IT services and telecommunications sectors is still emerging, and forecast growth in these areas has been further reduced significantly,” he said.
“Moreover, the rise in the value of the US dollar against most currencies in recent months will have a material downward impact on 2009 global IT spending growth."
It comes as no surprise to us that Gartner's initial forecast on IT spending has been revised to show a further decline. However, in our work with CIOs and IT directors, we're seeing some very positive trends emerging from this that could potentially mean a win-win position for both vendors and their customers.
Today's IT climate is less about "traditional" IT spend and more about bang for buck. However, the very ubiquity of IT in business today, combined with less monies in the pot, means that the profession and discipline of IT procurement is finally taking hold, using innovative techniques to eke optimum value out of every pound of the IT budget.
One of the results of this is that there is some far more innovative contract negotiating taking place for both existing and new contracts, and with an unprecedented number of vendors, previously immune to this. Our work in the past year alone has seen us work with more than 250 vendors, all of whom have responded positively to a more disciplined and focussed approach to IT procurement, with a marked increase in willingness to negotiate in the last 6 months.
Posted by: Alex Sandercock 10 Jul 2009
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