The Indian Information Technology (IT) sector will reportedly see spending growth in 2024, with an estimated double-digit surge of 11.1 per cent. Projections by Gartner forecast the total IT spending in India to reach USD 138.6 billion, an uptick from the US 124.7 billion recorded in 2023.
A notable driver behind this surge is the burgeoning demand for IT services, expected to escalate by 13.4 per cent in 2024 compared to a 10.1 per cent growth observed in the preceding year. Faced with a shortage of internal skills, Indian businesses are increasingly seeking external partnerships, particularly in areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), industry cloud, security, and data analytics.
Meanwhile, the global IT spending landscape is projected to reach USD 5 trillion in 2024, an increase of 6.8 per cent from the previous year. Despite the significant hype surrounding generative AI (GenAI) in 2023, experts at Gartner suggested that its impact on IT spending will be less pronounced in the short term.
John-David Lovelock, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner, said that generative AI is anticipated to revolutionise various sectors, and influence on IT spending will be comparable to other transformative trends like IoT and blockchain.
A notable shift is expected in 2024, as IT services are predicted to become the largest segment of IT spending for the first time. With an estimated growth of 8.7 per cent, reaching USD 1.5 trillion, enterprises are increasingly investing in organisational efficiency and optimisation projects.
Gartner also predicted that the Indian IT landscape is expected to witness a rebound in devices spending in 2024. Consumers in India express a heightened willingness to increase expenditure when replacing mobile phones and other devices, signaling a positive trajectory for the technology market.