Tablets to boost IT spending in 2011: Gartner

MUMBAI, INDIA: Research firm Gartner Inc. on Wednesday said that it expects worldwide IT spending, including that of media tablet such as the iPad, will hit $3.6 trillion in 2011 by increasing 5.6 per cent from $3.4 trillion last year.

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Gartner also forecasts global spending on media tablets to increase at an annual average rate of 52 per cent through 2015, said a press release.

“The addition of media tablets, reinforced by an expected additional decline in the value of the dollar, accounts for the increase in top-line growth,” said Richard Gordon, research vice president at Gartner. “Absent the addition of media tablets, the forecast would have slightly declined in constant-dollar terms. However, with their addition, there's virtually no change in underlying forecast growth at the level of overall IT,” he added

Gartner analysts said this stable forecast outlook comes despite political unrest in the Middle East, while the impact on IT markets of the recent natural disasters in Japan is yet to be fully understood.

“The Middle East share of global IT spending is approximately 2 per cent. While the political unrest affecting many countries in the region may well dent IT spending levels, any impact would be insignificant at the global level,” he said.

“We had largely completed our forecast by the time the recent natural disasters in Japan occurred, and we are still evaluating their likely impact on our forecast. On this point, we are looking at two potential effects on IT markets as a result of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan: consequences of disruptions in the global electronics supply chain and impacts on IT demand,” Gordon said.