This year, companies will spend three percent more than last year. Software, data centres/cloud, in particular, are on the rise, but there is less enthusiasm for a new printer or PC.
Gartner expects to spend $4.5 trillion on IT worldwide this year. The three percent increase is much less than the 10.2 percent growth last year. The analyst firm notes that a lot is involved, such as Inflation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, that does not mean that no money is being spent.
“The current volatility we see for both inflation and exchange rates will not disrupt CIOs’ investment plans,” said Gartner’s research analyst John-David Lovelock. However, he also warns that not investing in the short term will build up a disadvantage in the medium term and may even disappear in the long term.
If we look at the different segments, data centre systems are the largest grower, with an 11.1 percent increase, and software (9.6 percent growth). While they aren’t counted as separate expenses, Gartner says cloud spending is actually increasing by 22.1 percent. However, the increase is not everywhere. Expenditure on appliances is down by 5 percent. Gartner says savings are being made on PCs, tablets, and printers
In the margins of its estimate, Gartner also notes that the IT staff shortage will improve by the end of 2023. This is because it expects digital transformation at businesses to slow by then, leaving more room for upskilling and reskilling existing staff. But until then, it will be a balancing act between more demand for IT and finding enough people.
