IT spending forecast darkens for Europe

IT spending in Europe is expected to remain low this year

Analyst firm Forrester Research has lowered its projections for IT spending in Europe.

The company said in its latest quarterly report that economic troubles within EU countries will drag down spending in central and western Europe to levels similar to those of 2009.

Overall, the numbers represent a 13 per cent decline in spending from 2008.

The slower projected spending in Europe lies in stark contrast to figures for the rest of the world. Forrester predicts spending in Canada and Latin America to see the greatest increases, with jumps of 16.2 and 15.4 per cent respectively.

Asia Pacific is expected to see an 11 per cent increase in spending, followed by a 10.5 per cent rise in EMEA. The US market is projected to rise by 9.9 per cent.

Overall, Forrester sees global spending increasing by 7.8 per cent on the year with software, PCs, peripherals and storage appliances seeing the biggest gains. IT services growth is projected to see the least growth.

The company is recommending that European IT vendors look to expand to the EMEA and Asia markets where a weaker euro could prove advantageous to firms looking to expand into new markets.