Worldwide IT spending is expected to increase by 2% to reach a total of $3.7 trillion in 2013, compared to the $3.6 trillion spent in 2012, according to a report from Gartner.
Spending during the year will be 2.1% points less compared to the research agency’s previous forecast of 4.1%, due to the impact of fluctuations in the US dollar exchange rates.
Gartner’s VP Richard Gordon said that the exchange rate movements and a reduction in the 2013 forecast for devices account for the bulk of the downward revision of the 2013 growth.
"Regionally, 2013 constant-currency spending growth in most regions has been lowered," he said.
"However, Western Europe’s constant-currency growth has been inched up slightly as strategic IT initiatives in the region will continue despite a poor economic outlook."
Device based spending forecast for 2013 has been reduced from 7.9% growth to 2.8% compared to Gartner’s previous forecast.
The decrease in PC sales recorded in the first quarter of 2013 is expected to continue into the second quarter with little recovery seen in the second half of 2013. The availability of new devices in the market is expected to fail to balance the decrease.
Tablet revenue for 2013 is expected to experience 38.9% increase, while the mobile phone revenue is anticipated to rise 9.3% in 2013.
The enterprise software spending is expected to grow by 6.4% in 2013 along with the expected increase in the customer relationship management (CRM) applications due to the expanded coverage into e-commerce, social and mobile.
About 0.9% growth in spending is expected in the telecom services during the current year. Fixed broadband is likely to increase as the impact of voice substitution is mixed and expected to grow but albeit slowly in the enterprise market.