Forrester Reduces Forecast for Global Tech Spending

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Forrester Research has slightly lowered its predictions for global spending growth this year. However, it now believes U.S. tech spending will be higher than anticipated.

InformationWeek’s Kelly Sheridan reported, “In January, Forrester predicted a global tech market growth of 5.4% in local currencies and 3.3% in U.S. dollars. It predicted modest growth in the U.S., recession in Japan, a second half end to the European recession and improving economies in pockets of Asia, Latin America and the EEMEA. Halfway through 2013, the forecast for global tech has changed. For the remainder of the year, Forrester predicts it will grow just 2.3% growth in U.S. dollars and 4.6% in local currencies.”

ZDNet’s Larry Dignan added, “CIOs in the U.S. should plan for 5 percent to 6 percent growth in 2013 and 2014 with modest rises in other markets.”

TechCrunch’s Ingrid Lunden noted, “Forrester’s big-picture look at spending puts software as the biggest general category for investments, at $542 million for 2013. ‘Software is where most of the big changes in technology are taking place,’ writes Bartels. That is to say, while legacy, on-premise investments are ‘languishing,’ those that focus on cloud-based implementations such as SaaS; and ‘smart computing’ in the form of big data analytics and mobile apps are booming — following trends we’ve seen for a while now. Overall, software investments are set to grow 3.3% this year and 6.2% in 2014 — growth rates that he concedes ‘may not seem impressive [but still] stronger than any other tech category.'”

The Telegraph’s Sophie Curtis observed, “The only other category that is experiencing major innovation is computing equipment. In particular, tablets, which provide mobile alternatives to PCs, will help lift growth from 2.5 per cent in 2013 to 5.1 per cent in 2014. However, the report notes that even Apple emphasised software changes rather than new hardware in its 2013 product announcements.”