Information Technology Spending to Grow 6% in 2013

March 5, 2013
Growth is being driven by a high percentage of manufacturing, healthcare and professional services businesses.

Total information technology (IT) spending on hardware, software, and IT services across all 15 enterprise industries is forecasted to grow by 6% in 2013, to approximately $474 billion, according to the new International Data Corporation (IDC) United States Black Book 4Q12.

Over the last quarter, the U.S economic outlook has been clouded with uncertainties surrounding the fiscal cliff, contracting G.D.P growth, and declining international trade owing to reduced economic activity in the Euro zone. IDC expects the U.S. economy to stabilize in the second half of 2013, leading to moderately strong IT spending growth.

“Global uncertainty has subdued the willingness of firms to expand their IT budgets,” said Ted Dangson, vice president in IDC’s Global Technology and Industry Research Organization (GTIRO). “Yet we’ve seen continued investments by companies as they prioritize the replacement of outdated technology, and pursue strategic IT initiatives focused on big data and analytics, cloud computing, and mobility.”

“We expect total IT spending by enterprises in Arizona, North Dakota, Utah and Texas to grow at the highest rates in the country over the next year at more than 7% across all industries,” said Natasha Menon, Research Analyst in GTIRO. “This growth is being driven by a high percentage of healthcare, manufacturing, and professional services businesses in these states and IT spending aligns with economic projections of employment growth in these industries.”