Economic recovery and high expectations for the next generation of innovative digital solutions are set to boost global IT spending by 5.1% in 2022, analyst firm Gartner has said.
Worldwide IT spending is projected to total $4.5 trillion in 2022, an increase of 5.1% from 2021, according to the firm’s latest forecast. Despite the potential impacts of the Omicron variant, economic buoyancy along with high hopes for digital market prosperity will boost technology investments, it forecast.
“2022 is the year that the future returns for the CIO,” said John-David Lovelock, distinguished research vice president at Gartner. “They are now in a position to move beyond the critical, short term projects over the past two years and focus on the long term.”
He added that staff skills gaps, wage inflation and the war for talent will push CIOs to rely more on consultancies and managed service firms to pursue their digital strategies.
The IT services segment – which includes consulting and managed services – is expected to have the second highest spending growth in 2022, reaching $1.3 trillion, up 7.9% from 2021. Business and technology consulting spending, specifically, is expected to grow 10% in 2022.
“Through 2025, organizations will increase their reliance on external consultants, as the greater urgency and accelerated pace of change widen the gap between organizations’ digital business ambitions and their internal resources and capabilities,” said Lovelock. “This will be particularly poignant with cloud as it serves as a key element in achieving digital ambitions and supporting hybrid work. Gartner expects the vast majority of large organizations to use external consultants to develop their cloud strategy over the next few years.”
Pic courtesy of Hart Energy
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