Global IT spending to grow by 8.6% in 2021

Digital transformation can no longer be purchased overnight, and global IT spending projections reflect that

John-David Lovelock Research vice president at Gartner

DUBAI: Worldwide IT spending is projected to reach $4.2 trillion in 2021, an increase of 8.6 per cent from 2020, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc.

“Technology spending is entering a new build budget phase,” said John-David Lovelock, distinguished research vice president at Gartner. “CIOs are looking for partners who can think past the digital sprints of 2020 and be more intentional in their digital transformation efforts in 2021. This means building technologies and services that don’t yet exist, and further differentiating their organisation in an already crowded market.”

As many companies still suffer revenue declines, IT spending is accelerating ahead of revenue expectations. Boards and CEOs are much more willing to invest in technology that has a clear tie to business outcomes, and less so for everything else. For example, the IT services segment is among the top three highest growth areas for 2021 primarily due to a boost in infrastructure-as-a-service spending that supports missioncritical workloads and avoids high on-premises costs. The IT services segment is forecast to total $1.2 trillion in 2021, an increase of 9.8 per cent from 2020.

“Digital transformation can no longer be purchased overnight, and global IT spending projections reflect that,” said Lovelock. “As the world continues to open back up, enterprises will invest in tools that support innovation, anywhere operations and employee productivity and trust.”

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