Indian financial services industry (FSI) is estimated to spend INR377bn ($6.8bn) on IT products and services in 2012, increasing the market revenue by 17.4% compared to INR321bn ($5.8bn) in 2011, according to Gartner.
The increase will be driven by spending by insurers on internal IT including personnel, hardware, software, external IT services and telecommunications.
The biggest spending category will be telecommunications equipment and services, which is forecast to reach INR131bn ($2.4bn) in 2012, up from INR113bn ($2bn) in 2011.
FSI spending on software is expected to grow the fastest in 2012, with revenue totaling INR34bn ($613m) in 2012, up 28% from INR27bn ($487m) in the previous year, led by a very high growth in enterprise software applications like financial and administration packages, and customer relationship management, according to the research.
Gartner principal research analyst Derry Finkeldey said the real spend drivers will be the Indian retail bankers, although all financial services sectors including insurance and securities are increasing IT spend as they build out their infrastructures.
"Mobile is really top of mind for CIOs currently, and enterprise spend on devices is increasing and expected to grow by nearly 50 percent in 2012," he added.
"There is also a corresponding growth in mobile network services, of nearly 30 percent."
The research firm noted this focus on mobility is a global trend, but particularly pertinent to Indian FSIs which are all focused on leveraging the high mobile penetration to bring banking services to a wider audience.
