IT Spending Forecasted to Top $5 Trillion in 2024

IT spending worldwide will grow by 8%, reaching $5.1 trillion in 2024, according to a new report from Gartner. The market research firm pointed to AI as a contributing factor in that growth, but the impacts of generative AI won't be felt until the following year.

"In 2023 and 2024, very little IT spending will be tied to GenAI," said John-David Lovelock, distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner, in a prepared statement. "However, organizations are continuing to invest in AI and automation to increase operational efficiency and bridge IT talent gaps. The hype around GenAI is supporting this trend, as CIOs recognize that today's AI projects will be instrumental in developing an AI strategy and story before GenAI becomes part of their IT budgets starting in 2025."

For the forecast period, two of the largest categories of IT spending will also see the most growth. IT services, the largest category, will grow 10.4% from 2023 to 2024, reaching $1.547 trillion. And software, the third-largest category (behind communications services), will grow 13.8% to $1.042 trillion.

Other growth categories include:

  • Data center systems, projected to increase 9.5% in 2024 to $260.2 billion;

  • Devices, expected to grow 4.8% to $722.47 billion (following declines of 10% in 2023 and 6.3% in 2022); and

  • Communications services, up 3.3% to $1.497 trillion.

Growth is being driven by cloud spending resulting from increased cloud prices and increased use of the cloud. Worldwide cloud spending is forecast to grow 20.4% in 2024. It's also being driven by information security spending (itself driven, in part, by scares related to AI).

"AI has created a new security scare for organizations," Lovelock said. "Gartner is projecting double-digit growth across all segments of enterprise security spending for 2024."

Gartner also cited factors holding back IT spending. Change fatigue is one of them. As Gartner explained: "CIOs are experiencing change fatigue, which is often manifesting as a hesitation to invest in new projects and initiatives. This is pushing a portion of 2023's IT spending into 2024, a trend that is expected to continue into 2025."

"Faced with a new wave of pragmatism, capital restrictions or margin concerns, CIOs are delaying some IT spending," Lovelock said. "Organizations are shifting the emphasis of IT projects towards cost control, efficiencies and automation, while curtailing IT initiatives that will take longer to deliver returns."

For more information, check out Gartner's on-demand webinar on IT spending, accessible here.

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


Featured

  • student reading a book with a brain, a protective hand, a computer monitor showing education icons, gears, and leaves

    4 Steps to Responsible AI Implementation

    Researchers at the University of Kansas Center for Innovation, Design & Digital Learning (CIDDL) have published a new framework for the responsible implementation of artificial intelligence at all levels of education.

  • glowing digital brain interacts with an open book, with stacks of books beside it

    Federal Court Rules AI Training with Copyrighted Books Fair Use

    A federal judge ruled this week that artificial intelligence company Anthropic did not violate copyright law when it used copyrighted books to train its Claude chatbot without author consent, but ordered the company to face trial on allegations it used pirated versions of the books.

  • server racks, a human head with a microchip, data pipes, cloud storage, and analytical symbols

    OpenAI, Oracle Expand AI Infrastructure Partnership

    OpenAI and Oracle have announced they will develop an additional 4.5 gigawatts of data center capacity, expanding their artificial intelligence infrastructure partnership as part of the Stargate Project, a joint venture among OpenAI, Oracle, and Japan's SoftBank Group that aims to deploy 10 gigawatts of computing capacity over four years.

  • laptop displaying a phishing email icon inside a browser window on the screen

    Phishing Campaign Targets ED Grant Portal

    Threat researchers at cybersecurity company BforeAI have identified a phishing campaign spoofing the U.S. Department of Education's G5 grant management portal.