Worldwide IT spending is set to total USD 3.49 trillion in 2016, a 0.5 percent decline over 2015 spending of USD 3.52 trillion, according to a report by Gartner. The researcher has revised down its earlier forecast of 0.5 percent growth for the year, mostly due to currency fluctuations, while also highlighting an undercurrent of economic uncertainty that is prompting companies to cut IT spending. Gartner added that savings from legacy system optimisation and enhancements are having an effect on IT investment, with most traditional IT now having a 'digital service twin': license software has cloud software, servers have Infrastructure as a Service and cellular voice has VoLTE.
As a result, the device market (PCs, ultramobiles, mobile phones, tablets and printers) is set to decline 3.7 percent in 2016 due to global saturation in the smartphone market and falls in the PC and ultramobile markets. The underlying reasons are a combination of factors and are geography-specific, said Gartner, although the worsening economic conditions in many countries only serve to amplify their impact.
Data center systems' spending is forecasted to reach USD 175 billion in 2016, a 2.1 percent increase from 2015, while spending in IT services is expected to return to growth in 2016, also posting a 2.1 percent rise to USD 929 billion, driven by a stronger outlook for Japan and India.
However, telecom services spending is set to decline 2.0 percent to USD 1.4 trillion in 2016, impacted by ongoing economic downturns in major markets such as Russia and Brazil and slight slowdown in China's growth. The one bright spot is mobile data spending, with accelerating growth driven by improved pricing on bandwidth, mobile app and 4G/LTE network availability, said Gartner.
