Despite recent
tech industry layoffs
,
IT spending
is set to surge in 2024, reaching a record $5 trillion, according to IT research company Gartner. This represents a 6.8% increase from 2023, more than double the previous year's growth rate. While this forecast is slightly lower than
Gartner
's earlier prediction, it still marks the strongest spending increase in two years.
Driving this growth are practical factors like efficiency, labour, and IT services, not the hype surrounding generative AI. The IT services sector is now the largest category, expected to grow by a whopping 8.7%, surpassing communication services. Software spending will also remain strong, with a projected 12.7% increase.
Data center systems are still relevant, showing healthy 7.5% growth after a solid performance last year. Device spending will also rebound after a pandemic-induced slump, with a projected 4.4% increase. The slowest-growing category, communication services, is still sizable at 2.3%.
Gartner analyst John-David Lovelock attributes this robust spending to technology's increasing role in business: "It's moved beyond the back office and is now driving revenue," he says. "As long as businesses find new ways to use technology, spending will continue."
However, Lovelock warns of potential "change fatigue" among CIOs, who might be reluctant to commit to long-term projects. Generative AI, while promising, won't have a significant impact on spending in the near term. Instead, 2024 will be about planning for its future use.
English (US) ·