Worldwide IT spending is projected to total $5.1 trillion in 2024, an increase of 8% from 2023, according to the latest forecast by Gartner – the driving force will be cloud and IT services with generative AI only starting to have a real impact in 2025.
► Public cloud services revenues expected to grow 20.4% next year
► Impact of generative AI will not show until 2025
The software and IT services segments will both see double-digit growth in 2024, largely driven by cloud spending. Global spending on public cloud services is forecast to increase 20.4% in 2024, and similarly to 2023, the source of growth will be a combination of cloud vendor price increases and increased usage.
The Gartner forecast said that while organisations are investing in AI and automation, ‘very little’ IT spending will be tied to generative AI in 2023 and 2024. It also noted that CIOs are aware that current AI projects are laying the foundation for the development of an AI strategy. It will then start finding its way onto IT budgets in 2025.
Cybersecurity spending is also driving growth in the software segment. Gartner has previously found (in its 2024 Gartner CIO and Technology Executive Survey), that 80% of CIOs reported that they plan to increase spending on cyber/information security in 2024, the top technology category for increased investment.
Hardware sales will start a modest recovery next year, the firm said, with spending on devices growing 4.8%.
