Study: IT spending growth will slow in 2009

"Worldwide spending on information technology will slow significantly in 2009 as a direct result of the global financial crisis that began in September," IDC said today.

IDC, a global market intelligence firm headquartered in Framingham, said in a press release: "According to a newly revised forecast from IDC, worldwide IT spending will grow 2.6 percent year over year in 2009, down from IDC's pre-crisis forecast of 5.9 percent growth. In the United States, IT spending is expected to decline to 0.9 percent in 2009, much lower than the 4.2 percent growth forecast in August."

The press release included a statement from John Gantz, chief research officer at IDC.

"Although all the economic forecasts went from up slightly to down drastically in a matter of days, the good news is that IT is in a better position than ever to resist the downward pull of a slowing economy," Gantz said in the statement. "Technology is already deeply embedded in many mission-critical operations and remains critical to achieving further efficiency and productivity gains. As a result, IDC expects IT spending will continue to grow in 2009, albeit at a slower pace."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)