Global Tech economy to outgrow GDP in 2011: Forrester

BANGALORE, INDIA: The latest predictions report by the global tech researcher reveals that the strongest 2011 tech industry growth will come from none other than the BRIC and other emerging economies.

The report — ‘Another Year Of Outperformance For The Tech Industry’ by a veteran Forrester analyst and senior vice president, Christopher Mines, highlights macro trends that indicate the directions of growth and disruption for the technology industry in 2011.

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Says Mines, “The global technology industry is in a multiyear up-cycle of industry innovation and growth, during which tech investment grows faster than overall economic growth. This cycle, which is already under way in the US and other developed countries, is based on adoption of a new generation of Smart Computing and Cloud Computing technologies. We expect this cycle to ensure 7.5 per cent growth in US IT purchases, and 7.1 per cent growth globally (measured in USD), despite economic worries in Europe, uncertainties about the strength of economic recovery in the US, and the potential for slowing growth in China.”

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The report forecasts that in 2011, Brazil, Russia (sort of), India, and China (BRIC) will see some of the fastest (11pc) growth in IT purchases in 2011, with other emerging markets such as South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Chile, and Mexico seeing similarly strong growth. By segment, IT Consulting and Systems Integration Services segment will clock higher growth of 7.4 pc to reach $309B, and IT Outsourcing will grow by 7.1 pc to touch $254B globally.

Delving into other predictions for 2011, Mines asks vendors strategists and marketers to take a special note of two of Forrester’s predictions — first, the Cloud will ‘splinter’ into multiple services and markets, and second, the industry attention to Smart Computing will grow from a trickle to a stream. “Cloud represents a fundamental change in both how vendors create and package IT resources and how customers consume these resources. In 2011, it will become clear that "Cloud" is not one market or one trend; instead it will splinter along several axes such as public versus private, software versus infrastructure, and formal versus informal buyers. And then, Smart Computing, which we expect will ultimately overshadow even the megatrends like cloud, will grow further in 2011”, adds Mines.

Here are the eight tech predictions for 2011:

1. The Tech economy will substantially outgrow the overall GDP

2. Enterprises grapple with pervasive mobile apps

3. "Cloud" splinters into multiple services and markets

4. Industry attention to smart computing will grow from a trickle to a stream

5. Diverse, Pre-integrated computing systems proliferate

6. IT security moves from Bolt-On to Built-In

7. The rise of business and workforce influence on technology purchasing

8. Next-generation analytics unlock new data and improve business decisions