2008 - worse than predicted for IT spending

The global outlook for 2008 IT purchasing could be grimmer than previously believed due to the US economic difficulties.

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Analyst house Forrester Research has downgraded its 2008 forecast for global IT purchasing, projecting that US spending on IT goods and services will grow 2.8 per cent year-on-year - down from its previous forecast of 4.6 per cent - while global purchases of IT goods and services will grow six per cent - down from the previous forecast of nine per cent.

Forrester Research's figures fall broadly in line with those of fellow analyst house Gartner, whose most recent global IT spending growth forecast is also around six per cent.

The US financial situation is the cause for the downgrade. Forrester Research VP Andrew Bartels said in a statement: "While it is by no means certain that the US economy will in fact experience a recession, the risks of one are high enough to justify a more conservative outlook for the IT market."

The global market will be affected by any downturn in its largest regional market for IT goods and services, he continued, although the size of that market is getting ever smaller - with the US falling from 40 per cent of all global IT purchasing in 2003 to a forecast 33 per cent in 2008, Forrester said.

All IT sectors were not born equal, the Forrester forecast reports, saying that software, consulting and outsourcing will outperform hardware and communications equipment purchases.

Original article: '2008 worse than expected for global IT' from ZDNet Australia