Worldwide IT spending is projected to total $3.7 trillion in 2013, a two percent increase from 2012 spending of $3.6 trillion, according to Gartner's latest forecast.
For enterprise IT, expectations for digital content creation and operating systems were reduced as software-as-a-service (SaaS) and changing device demands impact traditional models and markets.
Last quarter, Gartner's forecast for 2013 IT spending growth in US dollars was 4.1%. The 2.1% reduction mainly reflects the impact of recent fluctuations in US dollar exchange rates; growth in constant currency is forecast at 3.5 percent for 2013, down only slightly from last quarter.
"Exchange rate movements, and a reduction in our 2013 forecast for devices, account for the bulk of the downward revision of the 2013 growth," said Richard Gordon, managing vice president at Gartner.
"Regionally, 2013 constant-currency spending growth in most regions has been lowered. However, Western Europe's constant-currency growth has been inched up slightly as strategic IT initiatives in the region will continue despite a poor economic outlook," Gordon added.
Slower device spending
The forecast for spending on devices in 2013 has been revised down from 7.9 percent growth in Gartner's previous forecast to 2.8%.
The decline in PC sales, recorded in the first quarter of 2013, continued into the second quarter with little recovery expected during the second half of 2013. While new devices are set to hit the market in the second half of 2013, they will fail to compensate for the underlying weakness of the traditional PC market.