Emerging mkts to generate $1.22 tn in IT spending

MUMBAI, INDIA: Emerging markets will generate $1.22 trillion in IT spending in 2012, representing more than 31 per cent of the worldwide total, according to Gartner, Inc.

The emerging regions of Asia/Pacific (which exclude the mature markets of Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan), Latin America, the Middle East and Africa (minus mature Israel), and Central and Eastern Europe, continue to show positive IT momentum, despite economic deceleration and a high degree of financial uncertainty in mature markets.

"While professional and consumer market opportunities can be found in many emerging markets, Brazil, Russia, India, Mexico and China (BRIMC) continue to perform particularly strongly, and this is where over half of emerging markets' IT spending will be concentrated in 2012," said Luis Anavitarte, research vice president and head of emerging markets research at Gartner.

"Seventeen per cent of global IT spending will be generated by BRIMC in 2012, representing nearly $658 billion, and the markets remain far from saturated," he added.

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From a regional perspective, Latin America will generate nearly $326 billion in IT spending in 2012, of which professional markets will represent 48.4 per cent of the total IT market in reaching $157.7 billion in 2012. Consumer markets in Latin America will reach $168 billion in 2012.

IT spending in the Middle East and Africa is expected to reach $244 billion in 2012, with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and South Africa accounting for nearly 35 per cent of this revenue. The Middle East and Africa professional markets represent 38 per cent of the total IT market in the region, and will reach $93 billion in 2012.

Central and Eastern Europe are expected to generate nearly $158 billion in IT spending in 2012. Professional markets will represent 48.2 per cent of this, totaling $76 billion, while the consumer market is predicted to reach $81.7 billion. Russia's share of IT spending in the region in 2012 is expected for be nearly 45 per cent, followed by Poland with 11.8 per cent, the Czech Republic with 7.7 per cent and Hungary with 3.7 per cent.

IT spending in emerging Asia/Pacific countries is expected to reach $496 billion in IT spending in 2012. Emerging Asia/Pacific professional markets will reach 42 per cent of the total IT spending in the region, while consumer IT spending will reach $288 billion in 2012.

"IT spending caution will be a constant in 2012, suggesting IT sales will be more challenging than in 2011," Anavitarte said.

"In 2012, we expect to see a more aggressive approach of selected professional and consumer markets, with particular attention to new consumer buyers. IT budget increases are expected in emerging markets for 2012 and end users' top technology priorities include cloud computing and mobile technologies," he went on.

Anavitarte advised providers to rebalance their portfolio of markets by assessing worldwide demand for 2012 and shifting resources accordingly from some mature markets to selected emerging economies.

Being selective and strategic in regions, countries and selected cities will be key in the coming year, and providers will need to carefully select where to execute their strategies after BRIMC countries, maximizing profitability while minimizing investments. They should also plan for a larger direct presence and execution in BRIMC, and for a slightly higher reliability in channel partners in the rest of the emerging markets.