Worldwide revenues for IT products and services are forecast to reach nearly $2.4 trillion in 2017, an increase of 3.5% over 2016. IDC estimates that global IT spending will grow to nearly $2.65 trillion in 2020 and this represents a compound annual growth rate of 3.3% for the 2015-2020 forecast period. The forecasts were published in an update of the “Worldwide Semi-annual IT Spending Guide: Industry and Company Size” by IDC.
Industry spending on IT products and services will continue to be led by financial services and manufacturing. Together, these industries will generate around 30% of all IT revenues. The telecommunications and professional services industries and governments are also forecast to be among the largest purchasers of IT products and services.
More than 20% of all technology revenues are forecast to come from consumer purchases, but consumer spending will be nearly flat throughout the period (0.3% CAGR) as priorities shift from devices to software for things such as security, content management, and file sharing.
Consumer spending on mobile devices and PCs continues to lag, but enterprise and public sector spending has shown signs of improvement. Government spending has stabilised, and shipments of notebooks including Chromebooks posted strong growth in the education market. Double-digit increases in commercial tablet spending will drive a return to growth for the overall tablet market this year, despite ongoing declines in consumer sales. These industry-driven opportunities for IT vendors will continue to emerge, even as the global economy remains volatile.
On a geographic basis, North America will be the largest market for IT products and services, generating more than 40% of all revenues. Elsewhere, Western Europe will account for slightly more than 20% of worldwide IT revenues followed by Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) at slightly less than 20%. The fastest growing regions will be Latin America (5.3% CAGR) followed by Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) and the US (each with a 4.0% CAGR). IT spending in the US is forecast to reach nearly $920 billion this year and top the $1 trillion mark in 2020.
