IT spending in Australia is expected to rise this year, with more money going into software than devices such as mobile phones, PCs, tablets and printers.
According to Gartner, Australian IT spending is forecast to grow 2.8 percent to reach $79.9 billion in 2016.
IT services represent the largest slice of the spend, standing at $29 billion.
Spending on devices such as mobile phones, PCs, tablets and printers is forecast to decline from $10.7 billion to $10.5 billion, while more money is ploughed into software - the fastest-growing segment with a forecast revenue of $10.3 billion for 2016.
Global IT spending will barely grow in 2016, according to Gartner, forecast to rise just 0.6 percent to US$3.54 trillion.
Gartner vice president John-David Lovelock said: "The rising US dollar is the villain behind 2015 results. US multinationals' revenue faced currency headwinds in 2015. However, in 2016 those headwinds go away and they can expect an additional five percent growth."
Globally, data centre system spending may reach US$175 billion in 2016, which is a 3 percent increase from the previous year.
“The server market is the segment that has seen the largest change since the previous quarter’s forecasted for 2016. Demand in this segment is expected to continue to be strong throughout the year,” Gartner stated.
The analyst firm added the worsening economic environment in emerging markets has had little effect on the global enterprise software spending forecast for this year, with IT spending on pace to total US$326 billion, a 5.3 percent increase from last year.
“Spending in the IT services market is expected to return to growth in 2016, following a decline of 4.5 percent in 2015. This is due to accelerating momentum in cloud infrastructure adoption and buyer acceptance of the cloud model,” the statement said.
Gartner is a global information technology research and advisory company that delivers technology-related reports.
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