Worldwide IT Spending This Year Takes A Hit Thanks To Brexit

Global IT spending is expected to dip this year, dropping 0.3% year-on-year, as the UK market deals with the economic uncertainty caused by the Brexit, according to analyst firm Gartner. But IT spending is set to pick up a bit in 2017, growing 2.9% to $4.56 trillion. Gartner also looked at whether the upcoming US presidential election will have an impact on IT spending.

According to research by Gartner, software spending this year will reach $434.31 billion, jumping 6% year-on-year. It’s the biggest growth segment this year followed by IT services, which will grow by 3.9% to $1.17 trillion by the end of the year. But the Brexit has put a dampener on global IT spending overall, which is projected to drop by 0.3% to $4.43 trillion.

“The immediate impact of Brexit has caused modest growth in IT spending to turn negative for 2016,” Gartner research vice-president John-David Lovelock said. “Without the UK, global IT spending growth would have been modestly positive at 0.2% in 2016, but with the UK included, IT spending is expected to decrease 0.3%. The immediate impact of the British pound will also cause the IT spending patterns to shift as prices for IT will increase.”

The good news is IT spending is forecast to grow by 2.9% to $4.56 trillion.

The upcoming US presidential election is unlikely to impact IT spending, regardless of who the winner is, according to Gartner.

“Typically, there is a slight pause in IT spending leading into the election, and then a relief in spending, subsequently,” Lovelock said. “However, trends have shown that IT spending in the US is not dependent on presidential leadership, so neither candidate should have a significant impact on IT spending in the near-term.”


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