Communications services will remain the largest IT spending segment in 2015, rising to nearly $1.5 trillion, according to the latest forecast by Gartner.
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 within most national markets.
Worldwide IT spending is on pace to total $3.5 trillion in 2015, a 5.5% decline from 2014. Analysts attribute the decline to the rising US dollar. In constant-currency terms, the market is projected to grow 2.5%.
In Gartner's previous forecast in April, the firm had forecast IT spending to decline 1.3% in US dollars and grow 3.1% in constant currency.
"There are secondary effects to the rising US dollar,” said John-David Lovelock, research vice president at Gartner. “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."
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, overall smartphone unit growth will start to flatten.
Within the data center systems segment, storage and network markets are both expected to see weaker growth in US dollar terms.
Enterprise software spending is forecast to decline 1.2% in 2015, with revenue totaling $654 billion.
IT services spending in 2015 is projected to decline 4.3%. Gartner expects modest increased spending on consulting in 2015 and 2016, as vendors have demonstrated their ability to stimulate new demand from buyers looking for help with navigating business and technology complexities.