IT budgets on the rise, driven by software, AI investments

Spending on information technology worldwide will reach $3.7 trillion this year, with the largest growth expected in spending on enterprise software. That is the prediction of research firm Gartner, which says organizations will increase spending on IT by approximately 4.5 percent in 2018. Enterprise software spending is the bright spot in Gartner's latest study, which predicts 9.5 percent growth in purchases for these applications in 2018, with another 8.4 percent growth in 2019, and will total $421 billion. "Global IT spending growth began to turn around in 2017, with continued growth expected over the next few years. However, uncertainty looms as organizations consider the potential impacts of Brexit, currency fluctuations and a possible global recession," said Gartner Research Vice President John-David Lovelock.