Despite the global economic downturn, IT spending in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) is expected to reach US$1,154 trillion next year – a 1.4 percent year on year rise.
The forecasted figures have been released by the leading information technology research and advisory company Gartner.
The expected rise according to Gartner will be mainly driven by devices and software with “big data” also expected to change the landscape of the industry and create new jobs.
Peter Sondergaard, Senior Vice President at Gartner and Global Head of Research, said: “This year is a pessimistic year for IT spending in Europe.”
“In 2012, we estimate that IT spending will decline 3.6 percent in EMEA and 5.9 percent in Western Europe. However, the EMEA region will return to growth in 2013 and continue to grow through 2016 when spending will reach $1.247 trillion.”
He said this at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo 2012, in Barcelona.
The global IT research company estimates spending on mobile devices (notebook PCs, mobile phones, ultramobiles and tablets) in EMEA will amount to $136 billion in 2012, reaching $188 billion in 2016.
“We are seeing tablets and smartphones significantly outpace purchases of traditional PCs.” added Sondergaard.
Furthermore, it is expected that by 2016, two-thirds of the workforce will have a smartphone or tablet device. This will change the way consumers buy software and transform the market.
Traditional software providers will have to rewrite their applications for these tablet-based environments, and there will be a strong increase in software spending. Gartner estimates EMEA IT spending in software will grow 3.1 percent in 2013, nearly reaching the $100 billion mark in 2016.
“The Nexus of Forces are the confluence and integration of cloud, mobile, social and information that will transform IT architecture and create a new information layer in our economy that will create new jobs, new revenue, and require new skills,” said Sondergaard.
Over the next three years, together with North America and Japan, EMEA will be the most active region in using big data. By 2015, 4.4 million IT jobs will be created globally to support big data, creating 1.3 million IT jobs in EMEA.
