Global IT spending to remain flat in 2009

Readjustment in IT strategies caused by the recession slows growth in investment

Cost-cutting attitudes will keep IT spending flat in 2009

Conservative investment attitudes driven by the credit crunch mean that global IT spending will remain flat in 2009, according to analyst Gartner.

Technology spend is expected to reach $2.7 trillion in 2009, a 0.5 per cent increase from 2008, as businesses remain uncertain about the depth and duration of the recession, and projects are deferred or cancelled as a consequence, said the analyst.

According to Gartner, the US financial services sector is set to be the hardest hit, while IT spending in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in 2009 will see a decline of 0.3 per cent.

IT spending in the US is forecast to grow a meagre 0.1 per cent, while Japan will see a decline of 0.1 per cent in investment in vertical market technology, said Gartner.

Latin America will see growth in vertical market IT spending of 4.4 per cent in 2009, driven by the expansion of countries such as Brazil, Peru, Argentina and Chile. Spend on third-generation and next-generation infrastructure will support growth of 2.9 per cent in spending in Asia-Pacific.

“The economic slowdown triggered by the US sub-prime market crisis, along with fluctuating oil prices and currency exchange rates impacted many industries and countries around the world in IT spending,” said John-David Lovelock, research vice president for Gartner.

“The slowdown in economic output [revenue] growth will continue to have a significant, but uneven, impact on IT spending across industries and within industries, as companies continue to adjust cost structures to preserve earnings. Technology service providers that go to market aware of and aligned to industry subsectors' needs will perform best,” he said.