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Analysis

Healthcare and government shine amid gloomy 2009 IT forecasts

By Alice Kok | 25 February 2009

Worldwide IT spending is projected to take a big hit this year, however healthcare and government are expected to be among the most resilient segments, according to a Gartner report.

Global IT spend will slow to a 0.5 per cent increase on 2008, totaling US$2.67 trillion in 2009, predicts the research firm.

“The economic slowdown impacted many industries and countries around the world in IT spending,” said John-David Lovelock, Research Vice President for Gartner. “The financial sector was particularly hard-hit in 2008 and will continue suffering through 2009. In contrast, healthcare grew 8.3 per cent worldwide in 2008, and utilities grew 7.7 per cent.”

The healthcare industry is expected to post the second-highest increase in 2009—next to utilities with 2.9 per cent growth—with 2.2 per cent growth. Countries in which healthcare is primarily publicly funded will be sheltered from the worst of the economic turmoil. Lovelock says that governments tend to keep healthcare funding stable at the very least during the worst economic conditions. Worldwide government IT spending is expected to grow by 2.1 per cent.

In Asia Pacific, IT spending continues to be strong. The market is expected to grow by 2.9 per cent—well ahead of the worldwide rate. However, slower growth will be seen in healthcare. The Asia Pacific healthcare IT market will grow by 2.4 per cent; government IT spend is expected to see 2.3 per cent growth.

Four industries exceed Asia Pacific’s overall compound annual growth rate for IT: communications, transportation, utilities and services. But Asia’s communications industry posts the highest growth forecast. Countries such as India and China continue to spend on third-generation (3G) and next-generation infrastructures.

Japan will continue to struggle in 2009 with IT spending forecast to decline by 0.1 percent.

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