IT spending to drop due to falling equipment prices, Gartner predicts
Gartner has updated its forecasts for IT spending this year with a downward projection, but it's not necessarily due to declining sales. It’s because the strengthening U.S. dollar is driving prices down and undercutting previous predictions.
Overall spending is expected to increase by 1.1% over 2018, to $3.79 trillion, down from a prediction of 2.8% growth made in January.
“Currency headwinds fueled by the strengthening U.S. dollar have caused us to revise our 2019 IT spending forecast down from the previous quarter,” said John-David Lovelock, research vice president at Gartner, in a statement. “Through the remainder of 2019, the U.S. dollar is expected to trend stronger, while enduring tremendous volatility due to uncertain economic and political environments and trade wars."