Global IT Spending to Grow 3.2% in 2019: Gartner

Overall global IT spending in 2019 will be less than 2018, the lowest in three years, Gartner said in its new forecast.

Gartner said in its forecast that worldwide IT spending is projected to total $3.8 trillion in 2019, an increase of 3.2 percent from expected spending of $3.7 trillion in 2018.

According to the forecast, the overall IT sector, which advanced 3.9 percent in 2017 and 4.5 percent in 2018, will only see a growth of 3.2 percent in 2019. When compared to 2018, sectors like enterprise software, IT services, data center systems, and communication services will see a much lesser growth than the current year.

“While currency volatility and the potential for trade wars are still playing a part in the outlook for IT spending, it is the shift from ownership to service that is sending ripples through every segment of the forecast,” Gartner said.

IT services, which increased 5.9 percent this year will only see a rise of 4.7 percent next year, quite like enterprise software which will see a growth of only 8.3 percent in 2019 from 9.9 percent in 2018. IT services will be a key driver for IT spending in 2019 as the market is forecast to reach $1 trillion in 2019, an increase of 4.7 percent from 2018. In a recent Gartner study, 46 percent of organizations indicated that IT services and supplier consolidation was their top three most-effective cost-optimization approach.

“An expected global slowdown in economic prosperity, paired with internal pressures to cut spending, is driving organizations to optimize enterprise external spend for business services such as consulting,” the report said.

According to Statista, Indian IT spending will increase from $10.5 billion in 2018 to $11.6 billion in 2019.

In the wake of new-age digitalization, worldwide spending for devices — PCs, tablets, and mobile phones is forecast to grow 2.4 percent in 2019, reaching $706 billion, up from $689 billion in 2018. Demand for PCs in the corporate sector has been strong, driven by Windows 10 PC hardware upgrades that should continue until 2020, Gartner said.

“PCs, laptops, and tablets have reached a new equilibrium state. These markets currently have stable demand from consumers and enterprises. Vendors have only subtle technology differentiation, which is pushing them to offer PC as a Service (PCaaS) to lock clients into multiyear recurring revenue streams and offer new bundles service options”, John-David Lovelock, Research Vice President at Gartner said.

For the ongoing financial year, Indian IT trade body, Nasscom has projected a growth of 7-9 percent for Indian IT exports. Sangeeta Gupta, Nasscom’s senior vice president said that global shift to a ’pay-for-use’ model may not have a high impact on the Indian IT sector as the country’s IT hub is a source of a myriad of services to their clients and not just counseling. She added given how the first half of the year has turned out for Indian IT companies, we expect to achieve the higher end of the guidance,” the Times of India quoted her as saying.

Earlier this week, India’s top software exporter Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) became the only Indian company to be spotted in the top 10 list to get foreign labor certification for H-1B visas for the fiscal year 2018. According to official data, TCS received over 20,000 such certifications.