Global IT spend to slow over 2010

A new report from IDC suggests global IT spending may be flat, or even decline, over the next 12 months during a period of economic recovery, but will pick up as updates put on hold are brought back into product.

“Although the economy isn’t exactly leaping forward, there are plenty of positive signs driving the market index – the forecasts for GDP growth and corporate profits are good, unemployment seems to be easing, and the stock markets are making steady gains,” IDC’s chief research officer, John Gantz, said in a statement.

“After a slow climb back into positive territory, we’ve now had five months of fluctuating results from our IT buyers. Eventually that spending will have to pick up again, as projects and updates that were put on hold during the downturn become more critical to competitiveness in the recovery.”

The report found that both business executives and CIOs lowered their buying outlooks for the rest of the year, with the former taking a more negative outlook on spending.