Worldwide IT Spending to Rise 4.2 Percent in 2013 : Gartner

Worldwide IT spending was expected to rise 4.2 percent in 2013 to $3.7 trillion, a pick-up from 1.2 percent growth forecast for last year as the gloom hanging over businesses and consumers starts to lift, industry research firm Gartner said.

Worldwide IT spending was expected to rise 4.2 percent in 2013 to $3.7 trillion, a pick-up from 1.2 percent growth forecast for last year as the gloom hanging over businesses and consumers starts to lift, industry research firm Gartner said.

Much of the uncertainty surrounding prospects for an upturn in global economic growth is nearing resolution, managing vice president Richard Gordon said. "As it does, we look for accelerated spending growth in 2013 compared to 2012."

Spending on devices like PCs, tablets, mobile phones and printers was forecast to reach $666 billion, up 6.3 percent.

The rise was below the 7.9 percent Gartner previously forecast, partly due to increased price competition from android devices in the tablet market.

Worldwide enterprise software spending would rise 6.4 percent to $296 billion, Gartner said on Thursday, driven by the security, storage management and customer relationship management sectors.

Telecom services, which continue to be the largest IT market, would be flat over the next few years as higher revenue from mobile data services was offset by declines in fixed and mobile voice services markets, Gartner said.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Dan Lalor)

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