IT spending across verticals likely to decline by 3.5% in 2015: Gartner

Worldwide IT spending across verticals is set to decline by 3.5% to touch $2.69 trillion in 2015 as compared to last year due to the appreciation of the US dollar, according to the research firm Gartner

Worldwide IT spending across verticals is set to decline by 3.5% to touch $2.69 trillion in 2015 as compared to last year due to the appreciation of the US dollar, research firm Gartner said on Wednesday.

“Appreciation of the US dollar (mainly against the euro, yen and the ruble), along with the relative slowdown of emerging markets (particularly Russia, Brazil and China), had a double impact on IT spending in 2015, and explains the downward revision in the forecast,” said Anurag Gupta, research vice president at Gartner. “Unsurprisingly, most technology firms reporting revenue in US dollars have taken a negative hit on their quarterly revenue earnings.”

According to Gartner, technologies that help understand customers better, improve engagement through multichannel experience and facilitate the buying process are high-priority areas.

Even as IT spending in the banking and securities segment is forecast to decline 2.4% in 2015, Gartner expects banks in developed markets to double their IT budgets to support digital and other new technology initiatives through 2019 while reducing legacy maintenance, to sell products, service customers and reduce operational costs.

“As banks grapple with growth and regulation issues, while battling new financial technology competitors, they will also look to invest in data solutions, driven by availability of big data, analytics tools and competition from fintech companies that rely on big data and analytics more to reach the right customer and analyze the risks,” said Rajesh Kandaswamy, research director at Gartner.

In the healthcare provider industry, IT spending will decline 2.7% in 2015. The US is the largest healthcare IT market globally, and it accounts for about 40 percent of the overall spending. It is also a focus of global attention by information and communication technology firms due to the current ongoing investments in healthcare IT, driven mainly by the government’s Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which provides financial incentives for hospitals and physicians to invest in IT, including electronic health records and other health information management systems.

“Planning, implementation and upkeep of such health systems are deriving spending in areas from consulting and core infrastructure to various health-specific applications,” said Jennifer Mazzucca, senior research analyst at Gartner.IT spending in the retail sector is forecast to decline 1.5% in 2015.