Communications of the ACM
IT Spending Forecasts Take a Hit as Coronavirus Slams Global Markets
Market research firms IDC and Gartner anticipate companies will back off on IT spending in the wake of market upheaval related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Credit: International Data Corp.
International Data Corp. (IDC) analysts predict companies will scale back information-technology (IT) investments as the coronavirus pandemic roils global markets, negating any short-term gains from corporate spending sprees on software, mobile devices, and other tools to accommodate a spike in remote work.
IDC speculated annual IT spending worldwide would decline from more than 4% to 1% this year, to about $2.3 trillion.
IDC's Stephen Minton expects most businesses scrambling to deploy emergency remote-work capabilities will move funds from other IT areas rather than boost net spending.
Meanwhile, Gartner's John-David Lovelock anticipates yearly software and hardware spending related to workplace communications and collaboration technology rising from a projected 2% to 2.5%, but the firm's revised IT investment outlook will indicate "softer" spending growth than an initial 3.7% forecast.
Lovelock added that cloud computing makes a sudden need for additional computer capacity and remote-work software less difficult to manage.
From The Wall Street Journal
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