APAC 'IT spend seen touching $743 billion

 IT spending in Asia Pacific is forecast to reach $743 billion in 2013, up 7.9 per cent over 2012, IT research and advisory company, Gartner has said.

All five major segments of IT spending are expected to grow in 2013, be it the devices segment (including PCs, tablets, mobile phones & printers), Data centre systems, software spending, IT services spending and telecom services, it said.

“As global markets improve in 2013 and resume growth, Asia Pacific remains one of the bright spots of the global IT market, allowing organisations in this region to accelerate competitiveness,” Gartner Senior VP & Global Head (Research) Peter Sondergaard said.

“Organisations in Asia Pacific will be able to innovate and compete using what we call the nexus of forces, or the intersection of Cloud, Mobile, Social and Information,” he said.

Gartner also predicted that by 2014, IT hiring in major Western markets will come predominantly from Asian companies enjoying double-digit growth.

“An increasing number of successful Asian companies - particularly from China and India - are enjoying double-digit growth rates and will substantially grow their geographic footprints, making significant investments in major Western markets through 2015.