IT sector spending to surge 13.2% to hit $138.9 bn mark in 2024: Gartner

IT expenditure in India is set to surge by double digits in 2024, growing by 13.2% to a total of $138.9 billion, as per a Gartner report. This contrasts with the global IT spending trend, which is experiencing single-digit growth due to a slowdown in discretionary spending.

The Indian IT sector's spending is forecasted to hit $138.9 billion in 2024, up from $122.6 billion the previous year, marking a robust growth rate of 13.2%, according to Gartner's latest predictions. This growth is anticipated across key sectors such as software, devices, IT services, and data centre systems.

Among these sectors, software spending in India is expected to witness the most significant growth rate of 18.6% in 2024, followed by devices at 16.9%.

“Devices spending is expected to jump from -2.1% in 2023 to 16.9% in 2024. This is mainly because Indian consumers expect to increase their spending when replacing their mobile phones and other devices this year,” the report states.

The report projects growth in device segment spending globally, reaching $688 billion in 2024, up from $664 billion in 2023, with a growth rate of 3.6%. The integration of GenAI capabilities in both premium and basic phones is cited as a factor contributing to this change.

The Gartner report highlights that Indian Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are focusing on growth, enhancing customer experience, and improving operational efficiency, particularly by leveraging software assets. The adoption of recurring revenue models is playing a pivotal role in optimising IT costs and driving software spending.

Regarding Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) spending in India, the report indicates that revenue generated from it will remain minimal in the short term, as Indian CIOs are currently in the planning and evaluation phase regarding this technology.

Globally, IT spending is expected to reach $5.06 trillion in 2024, marking an 8% increase from 3.8% in the previous year. The demand for GenAI processing is also expected to fuel growth in data centre systems spending, jumping from 4% in 2023 to 10% in 2024.

John David Lovelock, vice president and analyst at Gartner, said, “We are seeing a cycle of story, plan, execution when it comes to GenAI. In 2023, enterprises were telling the story of GenAI and in 2024 we are seeing most of them planning for eventual execution in 2025.”