New Delhi, Oct 21 (IANS) Global IT spending is projected to reach $5.1 trillion in 2024, an increase of 8 per cent from 2023, according to a new report.

While generative AI (GenAI) has not yet had a material impact on IT spending, investment in AI more broadly is supporting overall IT spending growth, according to Gartner.

“In 2023 and 2024, very little IT spending will be tied to GenAI. However, organisations are continuing to invest in AI and automation to increase operational efficiency and bridge IT talent gaps,” said John-David Lovelock, distinguished VP analyst.

The hype around GenAI is supporting this trend, as CIOs recognise that today’s AI projects will be instrumental in developing an AI strategy and story before GenAI becomes part of their IT budgets starting in 2025, he added.

The software and IT services segments will both see double-digit growth in 2024, largely driven by cloud spending. 

Global spending on public cloud services is forecast to increase 20.4 per cent in 2024, and similarly to 2023, the source of growth will be combination of cloud vendor price increases and increased utilisation.

While inflation’s effect on both consumers and businesses plagued the devices market throughout 2022 and 2023, devices spending will begin to rebound modestly in 2024, growing 4.8 per cent.

“AI has created a new security scare for organisations,” said Lovelock.

CIOs are experiencing change fatigue, which is often manifesting as a hesitation to invest in new projects and initiatives. This is pushing a portion of 2023’s IT spending into 2024, a trend that is expected to continue into 2025, said the report.