IDC, Forrester reduce projections for growth of IT spending in 2008

Two leading market research firms are projecting that the growth of overall spending on information technology, including IT security, will decline in 2008 compared with last year's levels.

IDC, Framingham, Mass., announced this week that it has revised downward its forecast for worldwide IT spending this year. IDC now is predicting the worldwide IT market will grow by five percent in 2008, below last year's growth of six percent.

In December, IDC said it expected global IT spending would rise this year between 5.5 percent and six percent. The lowered forecast is due to recent downward revisions to economic indicators, IDC said.

Meanwhile, Forrester Research released a report this week that significantly reduced its projections for the growth of IT spending in the United States this year.

Forrester now projects that U.S. companies and government agencies will increase their spending on information technology by 2.8 percent this year. In December, the research firm projected 4.6 percent growth in the IT sector. The research firm also lowered its projection of global purchases of IT goods and services to six percent, down from its previous forecase of nine percent.

ITC reported that worldwide IT spending is expected to reach an estimated $1.38 trillion this year, compared with about $1.3 trillion in 2007.  In U.S., growth is expected to drop to four percent in 2008, compared with six percent in 2007, according to IDC.







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