Cloud, Enterprise software to drive global IT spending increase

Spending on enterprise software, particularly cloud services and applications, is expected to grow faster than any other category of IT this year, fueling an overall increase in global spending on technology. If you have any doubts that digital transformation is top of mind for IT executives, just take a look at what they're buying. Spending on enterprise software, particularly cloud services and applications, is expected to grow faster than any other category of IT this year, fueling an overall increase in global spending on technology.

That's according to a report from market research and consultancy firm Gartner, released today, that forecasts a 3.2 percent rise to $3.77 trillion in worldwide spending on IT.

Spending on enterprise software is forecast to jump 8.5 percent this year from 2018, to hit $431 billion. Included in the enterprise software category are ERP (enterprise resource planning), SCM (supply chain management) CRM (customer relationship management), open-source, on-premises and cloud software.

Within the overall enterprise software category, cloud computing infrastructure and applications will absorb most of the spending, totaling $214 billion this year, up 17.5 percent from 2018, Gartner said."The most important thing we’re seeing is the shift from bricks and mortar business to digital business," said Gartner analyst John Lovelock. "It's the main driver of the uptick in spending."