Impacted by a rising US dollar, global IT spending is on pace to total $3.5 trillion in 2015, a 5.5 per cent decline from 2014, according to a forecast by Gartner. In constant-currency terms, the market is projected to grow 2.5 per cent.

In Gartner's previous forecast in April, it had forecast IT spending to decline 1.3 per cent in US dollars and grow 3.1 per cent in constant currency. Gartner analysts attribute the decline to the rising US dollar.

"We want to stress that this is not a market crash. Such are the illusions that large swings in the value of the US dollar versus other currencies can create," said John-David Lovelock, research Vice-President at Gartner.

"However, there are secondary effects to the rising US dollar. Vendors have to raise prices to protect costs and margins of their products, and enterprises and consumers will have to make new purchase decisions in light of the new prices," he added.

Communications services will continue to be the largest IT spending segment in 2015 with spending at nearly $1.5 trillion. However, this segment is also experiencing the strongest decline among the five IT sectors. Price erosion and competitive threats are preventing revenue growth in proportion to increasing use in most national markets.

In the device market, mobile phones continue to be the leading segment, with growth in Apple phones, especially in China, keeping overall phone spending consistent. However, the overall smartphone unit growth will start to flatten. The PC and tablet markets continue to weaken.

rajesh.kurup@thehindu.co.in

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