The State of Australian IT Spending in 2014: It Will Reach $76.9 Billion After 2013’s Flat

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Australians are predicted to spend $76.9 billion on IT products in 2014, an increase of 2.54% on 2013. A recent research by Gartner has revealed that technology spending in Australia remained consistent in 2013 despite cautious expenditure due to federal election uncertainty. In 2014, however, it will be “more robust”.

This is a part of the global rise in IT spending, which is set to hit $US 3.77 trillion in 2014, up 3.1% from $US3.66 trillion in 2013. The forecast follows a flat year globally in IT spending, with growth in 2013 at 0.4%. Across the Asia-Pacific, the figure will hit $US 758 billion, up 4.2% on 2013; however, this is slightly lower than the 2013 growth of 4.7%. In New Zealand, consumers and businesses are forecast to spend $NZ 11.1 billion on IT, up 2.2% on 2013 figures.

In 2013, businesses held back on investing in data centre systems, but this should pick up, with spend forecast to rise globally by 2.6% to $US 143 billion. Spending on enterprise software is forecast to be the strongest sector throughout the year, with a growth rate of 6.8% to $US320 billion internationally. CRM (customer relationship management) will be the leading story. These are the technologies to target customer interaction, with businesses using it to build customer loyalty. Globally, spending on devices such as PCs, mobile phones and tablets contracted by 1.2% in 2013, however this is expected to rise by 4.3% in 2014 to $US697 billion.

Yet, as brands increasingly compete with Apple, as the market leader on price and functionality, the volume of purchases is likely to increase, but a drop in prices may mean that the total spend does not reflect this. One sector that is set to see a minimal rise globally is telecom services, gaining 1.2% to $US1.65 trillion. However, this sector still has the highest overall spend.