Gartner Says Global IT Spending to Reach $3.7 Trillion in 2018
January 16 2018 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Analysts to Discuss Latest IT Spending
Outlook During Gartner Webinar January 16 at 11 a.m. ET
Worldwide IT spending is projected to total $3.7 trillion in
2018, an increase of 4.5 percent from 2017, according to the latest
forecast by Gartner, Inc.
"Global IT spending growth began to turn around in 2017, with
continued growth expected over the next few years. However,
uncertainty looms as organizations consider the potential impacts
of Brexit, currency fluctuations, and a possible global recession,"
said John-David Lovelock, research vice president at Gartner.
"Despite this uncertainty, businesses will continue to invest in IT
as they anticipate revenue growth, but their spending patterns will
shift. Projects in digital business, blockchain, Internet of Things
(IoT), and progression from big data to algorithms to machine
learning to artificial intelligence (AI) will continue to be main
drivers of growth."
Enterprise software continues to exhibit strong growth, with
worldwide software spending projected to grow 9.5 percent in 2018,
and it will grow another 8.4 percent in 2019 to total $421 billion
(see Table 1). Organizations are expected to increase spending on
enterprise application software in 2018, with more of the budget
shifting to software as a service (SaaS). The growing availability
of SaaS-based solutions is encouraging new adoption and spending
across many subcategories, such as financial management systems
(FMS), human capital management (HCM) and analytic
applications.
Table 1. Worldwide IT Spending Forecast
(Billions of U.S. Dollars)
2017Spending
2017Growth (%)
2018Spending
2018Growth (%)
2019Spending
2019Growth (%)
Data Center Systems 178 4.4 179
0.6 179 -0.2 Enterprise Software 355
8.9 389 9.5 421 8.4 Devices
667 5.7 704 5.6 710
0.9 IT Services 933 4.3 985
5.5 1,030 4.6 Communications Services
1,393 1.3 1,427 2.4 1,443
1.1 Overall IT
3,527 3.8
3,683 4.5 3,784
2.7
Source: Gartner (January 2018)
The devices segment is expected to grow 5.6 percent in 2018. In
2017, the devices segment experienced growth for the first time in
two years with an increase of 5.7 percent. End-user spending on
mobile phones is expected to increase marginally as average selling
prices continue to creep upward even as unit sales are forecast to
be lower. PC growth is expected to be flat in 2018 even as
continued Windows 10 migration is expected to drive positive growth
in the business market in China, Latin America and Eastern Europe.
The impact of the iPhone 8 and iPhone X was minimal in 2017, as
expected. However, iOS shipments are expected to grow 9.1 percent
in 2018.
"Looking at some of the key areas driving spending over the next
few years, Gartner forecasts $2.9 trillion in new business value
opportunities attributable to AI by 2021, as well as the ability to
recover 6.2 billion hours of worker productivity," said Mr.
Lovelock. "That business value is attributable to using AI to, for
example, drive efficiency gains, create insights that personalize
the customer experience, entice engagement and commerce, and aid in
expanding revenue-generating opportunities as part of new business
models driven by the insights from data."
"Capturing the potential business value will require spending,
especially when seeking the more near-term cost savings. Spending
on AI for customer experience and revenue generation will likely
benefit from AI being a force multiplier — the cost to implement
will be exceeded by the positive network effects and resulting
increase in revenue," said Mr. Lovelock.
More detailed analysis on the outlook for the IT industry is
available in the complimentary webinar "IT Spending Forecast, 4Q17
Update: What Will Make Headlines in 2018?" at 11 a.m. ET today,
January 16, 2018, and on demand. During the webinar, Gartner
analysts will discuss the full IT spending forecast and details on
the key drivers for IT spending in 2018.
Gartner's IT spending forecast methodology relies heavily on
rigorous analysis of sales by thousands of vendors across the
entire range of IT products and services. Gartner uses primary
research techniques, complemented by secondary research sources, to
build a comprehensive database of market size data on which to base
its forecast.
The Gartner quarterly IT spending forecast delivers a unique
perspective on IT spending across the hardware, software, IT
services and telecommunications segments. These reports help
Gartner clients understand market opportunities and challenges. The
most recent IT spending forecast research is available at Gartner
Worldwide Spending Forecast. This quarterly IT Spending Forecast
page includes links to the latest IT spending reports, webinars,
blog posts and press releases.
Mr. Lovelock will provide further analysis on the key drivers of
the IT market at the Gartner Tech Growth & Innovation Summit
taking place from April 30 through May 2, 2018 in San Diego, CA.
The Summit is the premier conference for technology vendors to
learn about the latest trends and tools, innovation predictions,
positioning and thought leadership.
About Gartner
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world's leading research and
advisory company. The company helps business leaders across all
major functions in every industry and enterprise size with the
objective insights they need to make the right decisions. Gartner's
comprehensive suite of services delivers strategic advice and
proven best practices to help clients succeed in their
mission-critical priorities. Gartner is headquartered in Stamford,
Connecticut, U.S.A., and has more than 15,000 associates serving
clients in 11,000 enterprises in 100 countries. For more
information, visit www.gartner.com.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180116005566/en/
GartnerChristy Pettey, +1
408-709-8124christy.pettey@gartner.comorRobert van der Meulen, + 44
(0) 1784 267 738rob.vandermeulen@gartner.com
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