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Worldwide IT Spending Could Pass $3.4 Trillion

08/22/2008
Despite current economic conditions, global spending on information technology (IT) will exceed US$3.4 trillion in 2008, an increase of 8 percent over 2007, according to IT industry consulting firm Gartner, Inc. Analysts for Gartner say this growth is based in large part on the decline in the U.S. dollar. "The U.S.-led economic downturn shows no sign of causing a recession in IT spending," says Jim Tully, vice president and distinguished analyst at  Gartner. "In subsequent years, we will see reduced growth, but the fundamentals remain strong. Emerging regions, replacement of obsolete systems, and some technology shifts are driving growth." Among the emerging areas where money is being invested are per-use, service-based hardware and software models, including cloud computing. Gartner also says IT spending is dominated by services rather than products, and that the telecom sector has a major impact on overall IT spending, accounting for almost $2 trillion in this year. "Spending in IT services is being supported by two main factors," says Kathryn Hale, Gartner's research vice president. "Businesses are investing in improvements to internal processes aimed at reducing costs, while often maintaining some of the prior interest in innovation. The second factor is that globalization allows IT services providers to mitigate the risk of weakening demand by operating in more markets."

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