Global IT spending outlook 'better but subpar' for 2014, Forrester says

Global spending on technology will rise 6.2 percent in U.S. dollars to US$2.22 trillion in 2014, helped by an improving economy and growing interest in areas such as mobility and cloud computing, according to new data from Forrester Research.

If the prediction bears out, it will be an improvement: IT spending grew only 1.6 percent in U.S. dollars during 2013, according to Forrester analyst Andrew Bartels . Growth will quicken in 2015, rising 8.1 percent in U.S. dollars, but will remain ?well below the double-digit growth rates of the late 1990s and 2000 era,? Bartels said in a blog post on Thursday.

The U.S. dollar is expected to be weaker compared to many currencies next year, and IT spending will rise only 5.5 percent in local currencies, a percentage point less than previous projections, according to the full Forrester report.

U.S. buyers are setting the pace, being responsible for 40 percent of all tech spending, while the nation?s economy has continued to grow ?despite self-inflicted wounds from austerity zealots in the U.S. Congress,? Bartels wrote on his blog. But economies in Western Europe are only now beginning to recover while Brazil, China, India and Russia ?are going through a period of sluggish and uneven growth,? he added.

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Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2083600/global-it-spending-outlook-better-but-subpar-for-2014-forrester-says.html#tk.rss_all

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