Add as a preferred source on Google


Worldwide IT Spending Projected to Reach $4.4 Trillion in 2022

Information technology spending is on the rise: According to a recent Gartner forecast, worldwide spending will reach $4.4 trillion this year, a 4% increase compared to 2021. A key driver of investments in IT is the need to remain flexible in the face of diverse challenges, the research firm said.

"This year is proving to be one of the noisiest years on record for CIOs,"explained John-David Lovelock, distinguished research vice president at Gartner. "Geopolitical disruption, inflation, currency fluctuations and supply chain challenges are among the many factors vying for their time and attention, yet contrary to what we saw at the start of 2020, CIOs are accelerating IT investments as they recognize the importance of flexibility and agility in responding to disruption."

Primary areas of purchasing will include analytics, cloud computing, seamless customer services and security, Lovelock added.

Segments that will see the largest growth through 2022 and 2023 are software and IT services, Gartner said. The research firm expects software spending to reach $674.9 billion in 2022 (representing 9.8% growth over last year) and IT services spending to reach $1.3 trillion (6.8% growth). Of note: Behind much of that spending growth is an increase in pricing, largely due to inflation and the scarcity of IT talent (requiring more competitive salaries to retain employees) leading technology service providers to adjust prices accordingly. The long-term trend of digital transformation is also a factor.

"CIOs who keep their eye focused on key market signals, such as the shift from analog to digital business and buying IT to building it, as well as negotiate with their vendor partners to assume ongoing risks, will fare better in the long-term,"said Lovelock. "At this point, only the most fragile companies will be forced to pivot to a cost cutting approach in 2022 and beyond."

More information is available in the on-demand Gartner webinar, "IT Spending Forecast, 1Q22 Update."

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

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.

  • three glowing stacks of tech-themed icons

    Research: LLMs Need a Translation Layer to Launch Complex Cyber Attacks

    While large language models have been touted for their potential in cybersecurity, they are still far from executing real-world cyber attacks — unless given help from a new kind of abstraction layer, according to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Anthropic.

  • Hand holding a stylus over a tablet with futuristic risk management icons

    Why Universities Are Ransomware's Easy Target: Lessons from the 23% Surge

    Academic environments face heightened risk because their collaboration-driven environments are inherently open, making them more susceptible to attack, while the high-value research data they hold makes them an especially attractive target. The question is not if this data will be targeted, but whether universities can defend it swiftly enough against increasingly AI-powered threats.

  • magnifying glass revealing the letters AI

    New Tool Tracks Unauthorized AI Usage Across Organizations

    DevOps platform provider JFrog is taking aim at a growing challenge for enterprises: users deploying AI tools without IT approval.