Gartner Inc. headquarters in Stamford, Conn.
IT Research and Advisory firm Gartner, Inc. projects worldwide IT spending to grow to nearly $3.9 trillion in 2020, an increase of 3.4 percent from 2019.
“Software will be the fastest-growing major market this year,” Gartner said, reaching 10.5 percent. The firm said Software-as-a-Service is driving the growth.
Also contributing will be enterprise IT spending for cloud-based offerings. Although non-cloud IT offerings also will continue to grow, sales of cloud-based offerings will outpace traditional IT sales.
“Organizations with a high percentage of IT spending dedicated to cloud adoption is indicative of where the next-generation, disruptive business models will emerge,” Gartner said in the forecast released Wednesday.
Businesses investing in cloud offerings “can expect a greater return on their cloud investments through cost savings, improved agility and innovation, and better security,” the research firm said.
Cloud companies generally price their offerings on a per-user basis, and offer a subscription or “pay-as-you-go” model, allowing companies to grow or shrink their license spend as needed. Using the cloud for services typically allows companies to enjoy longer refresh cycles as well as consistent immediate patching and updates.