World-wide spending on information technology products and services is expected to reach $3.5 trillion by 2017, with spending on data center systems rising by two percent next year.
That is the prediction of Gartner Group, which has released its predictions for IT spending in the year ahead. According to the research firm, spending will be up 2.9 percent, driven by growth in software and IT services.
“The bright spots for the IT industry have been the software and IT services segments,” according to Gartner analyst John-David Lovelock. “Software spending is projected to grow 6 percent in 2016, and it will grow another 7.2 percent in 2017 to total $357 billion. IT services spending is on pace to grow 3.9 percent in 2016 to reach $597 billion, and increase 4.8 percent in 2017 to reach $943 billion.”
The Gartner predictions broke IT spending down into five categories. Data center systems took the middle spot, at 2.0 growth in 2017. Topping the list was software, at 7.2 percent. That was followed by IT services, at 4.8 percent. Communication services came in fourth, at 1.9 percent. Taking the final slot were devices, at 0.4 percent.
With the U.S. presidential election looming, Gartner analysts do not believe the pending election, or the winning candidate, will affect IT spending trends. "We have also taken into account the U.S. presidential race, as well as a potential rate cut by the Federal Reserve,” noted Lovelock. “Typically, there is a slight pause in IT spending leading into the election, and then a relief in spending, subsequently. However, trends have shown that IT spending in the U.S. is not dependent on presidential leadership, so neither candidate should have a significant impact on IT spending in the near-term."
