Global IT spending to fall 3.5% in 2015 as $ rises: Gartner

Strengthening of the US dollar against other currencies is expected to pull global IT spending across vertical industries down 3.5 percent to USD 2.69 trillion in 2015 from last year, research firm Gartner said. "Appreciation of the US dollar (mainly against the euro, yen and the ruble), along with the relative slowdown of emerging markets (particularly Russia, Brazil and China), had a double impact on IT spending in 2015, and explains the downward revision in the forecast," Gartner Research Vice President Anurag Gupta said.

Unsurprisingly, most technology firms reporting revenue in US dollars have taken a negative hit on their quarterly revenue earnings, he added. In recent months, global currencies including the Indian Rupee, have seen significant volatility amid global economic concerns. Given currency exchange rates, Gartner expects all industries to experience negative growth in 2015.

IT spending in the banking and securities segment is forecast to decline 2.4 per cent in 2015 to USD 486.2 billion. Gartner expects banks in developed markets to double their IT budgets to support digital and other new technology initiatives through 2019 while reducing legacy maintenance, to sell products, service customers and reduce operational costs. "Banks will also look to invest in data solutions, driven by availability of big data, analytics tools and competition from fintech companies that rely on big data and analytics more to reach the right customer and analyse the risks," Gartner Research Director Rajesh Kandaswamy said.

Cybersecurity remains an area of focus for executives in consumer banking segments, while an emerging area of interest is smart machine technology, including artificial intelligence, robotic process automation, intelligent analytics and deep learning, he added. IT spending in the retail sector is forecast to decline 1.5 percent in 2015 to USD 176.91 billion, while that by the healthcare provider industry is expected to fall 2.7 percent to USD 104.98 billion in 2015. Globally, the biggest fall is expected to be seen in the government sector at five percent with an estimated USD 424.66 billion being spent this year.