Worldwide IT Spending to Hit $4.6 Trillion in 2023

ORLANDO, Fla.—Worldwide IT spending is projected to total $4.6 trillion in 2023, an increase of 5.1% from 2022, according to a new forecast by Gartner, Inc. released during Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo™.

Global IT spending is expected to hit $4.43 trillion in 2022, a slight 0.8% increase over 2021.

Communications services will be the largest category of spending at $1.47 trillion followed by IT services at $1.36 trillion in 2023.

The ongoing move to cloud-based technologies is reflected by the fact that spending on software will see an 11.3% increase in 2023 to $879 million, making it the fastest growing category, Gartner reported.

Despite an expected slowdown in the global economy, demand for IT in 2023 is expected to be strong as enterprises push forward with digital business initiatives in response to economic turmoil, Gartner reported.

“Enterprise IT spending is recession-proof as CEOs and CFOs, rather than cutting IT budgets, are increasing spending on digital business initiatives,” said John-David Lovelock, distinguished vice president analyst at Gartner. “Economic turbulence will change the context for technology investments, increasing spending in some areas and accelerating declines in others, but it is not projected to materially impact the overall level of enterprise technology spending.”

“However, inflation has cut into consumer purchasing power in almost every country around the world,” he added. “Consumer purchasing power has been reduced to the point that many consumers are now deferring 2022 device purchases until 2023, driving spending on devices down 8.4% in 2022 and 0.6% in 2023.”