IDC cuts growth prediction for EMEA IT spending

IDC analysts say that the worsening economic situation will mean a more bleak economic situation for IT markets in EMEA than previously predicted.

The company has cut its previous estimate for overall IT spending growth in EMEA, by 1.5%, to just under 3%.

Marcel Warmerdam, research director for European IT Markets at IDC said that the company expects to see very sluggish growth, and sees many users postponing or cancelling projects.

The company expects to see the hardware market enter a period of negative growth, while software spending growth will be halved to 4.1%. Services will also suffer.

For the Middle East and Africa region, growth will remain higher, but predictions have still been cut back from 12% to 8.5%.Steven Frantzen, senior vice president for EMEA research said: “While growth in the IT markets of CEE and MEA regions will slow in 2009, affected by downturns in Russia, Turkey, and South Africa, we anticipate a sharp recovery already in 2010 in view of requirements for infrastructure development.”

IDC did predict some upside in the current situation, with spending on IP phones and smart handhelds likely to show continued double-digit growth, more use of open source software, and more data centre efficiency. The poor performance of financial institutions will also result in an eventual uptick in compliance requirements, resulting in increased spending on storage, software, and data management solutions.