Worldwide IT spending is forecast to total $3.6 trillion in 2011, an increase of 5.1% compared to $3.4 trillion in 2010, according to Gartner.
Gartner has raised its outlook for the IT industry from the previous forecast when it expected worldwide IT spending to grow 3.5%, and said that in 2010 IT industry performed better than its previous forecast of 3.2%.
Worldwide computing hardware spending is expected increase by 7.5% to $391.3bn in 2011.
According to Gartner, the telecom equipment market is expected to poise for the strongest growth by 9.1% to $465.4bn in 2011, compared to $426.6bn last year.
Spending on IT services is expected to increase by 4.6% to $817.9bn in 2011 while telecom service spending is expected to increase by 3.4% to $1,593bn in 2011.
The research firm said that computing hardware segment will grow 7.5% in 2011, but said vendors face possible challenges, particularly in the area of PC growth, given likely weak economic growth through the first half of 2011.
Gartner research vice president Richard Gordon said aided by favourable US dollar exchange rates, global IT spending growth was expected to exceed 5% in 2010, but a similar level of growth in 2011 while forecast is far from certain, given continued macroeconomic uncertainty.
"While the global economic situation is improving, the recovery is slow and hampered by a sluggish growth outlook in the important mature economies of the US and Western Europe," Gordon said.
