FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- Based on current economic expectations, worldwide IT spending this year will reach $981 billion, an increase of 3.7% over 2001, according to a report from International Data Corp. (IDC) here today.
While spending on IT hardware will show a full year-on-year decrease of 4% this year, growth of spending on software and
services will result in positive growth for the total IT market, according to IDC.
"The uptick will become more evident in Q4," said Stephen Minton, who tracks the market for IDC, in a statement. "The bottom has already been reached, the green shoots of recovery will begin to emerge gradually during Q3, and Q4 will show strong year-on-year comparisons with 2001."
According to IDC, Q4 of 2001 was severely impacted by the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, which came at the mid-point of the economic recession, and in the immediate aftermath of the telecom and dot.com meltdowns.
Based on a return to normal seasonality in Q4 2002, with the fourth quarter typically representing the biggest quarter for IT spending, IDC expects to see strong growth comparisons over Q4 2001.
