More IT Jobs as APAC IT Spends to jump to $743 bn now

MUMBAI, INDIA: Gartner predicts that by 2014, IT hiring in major Western markets will come predominantly from Asian-headquartered companies enjoying double-digit growth.

"An increasing number of successful Asian companies - particularly from China and India - are enjoying double-digit growth rates and will substantially grow their geographic footprints, making significant investments in major Western markets through 2015. Consequently, these organizations will be responsible for major hiring of IT professionals to support their growth at a time when Western companies will still be coping with the impact of the economic crisis," Peter Sondergaard, Gartner senior vice president and global head of research said.

By 2015, 4.4 million IT jobs globally will be created to support big data. Of these, 960,000 will be in the Asia Pacific region. Every big data-related role in Asia Pacific will create employment for three people outside of IT, so a total of four million jobs in Asia Pacific. However, only one third of the IT role will be filled due to lack of skills in big data. Governments and organizations will need to focus on education and skills development to remain competitive.

IT spending in Asia Pacific is forecast to reach $743 billion in 2013, an increase of 7.9 per cent over 2012, according to Gartner, Inc. In 2012, IT spending in Asia Pacific is on pace to grow 7.6 per cent.

In Australia, IT spending is forecast to grow 3.2 per cent in 2013 to reach A$75.5 billion ($75.4 billion). IT spending in New Zealand is forecast to grow 2.0 per cent in 2013 to reach NZ$11.1 billion ($8.6 billion). These growth rates are slightly lower than the forecast worldwide growth of 3.8 perc ent.

In the Asia Pacific region, all five major segments of IT spending are expected to grow in 2013. The devices segment (including PCs, tablets, mobile phones & printers) in Asia Pacific is projected to total $229.7 billion, a 12.3 per cent increase from 2012 spending. Data center systems spending is forecast to reach $28.6 billion in 2013, a 9.5 per cent increase from 2012; software spending will total $33.9 billion, up 11.9 per cent; IT services spending will reach $91.5 billion, up 7.5 per cent, and telecom services is projected to total $359.4 billion, a 4.8 per cent increase from 2012.

"As global markets improve in 2013 and resume growth, Asia Pacific remains one of the bright spots of the global IT market, allowing organizations in this region to accelerate competitiveness," said Peter Sondergaard. "Organizations in Asia Pacific will be able to innovate and compete using what we call the nexus of forces, or the intersection of Cloud, Mobile, Social and Information. New business models will emerge in this region."