India IT spend to reach $71.5B in 2013

India will continue to spend on IT despite the weak global economy, with investments in telecommunications helping to spur the overall tech expenditure to US$71.5 billion in 2013.

According to Gartner's findings released Wednesday, the US$71.5 billion mark represents a 7.7 percent increase from the US$66.4 billion forecasted for 2012. Peter Sondergaard, senior vice president and global head of research at Gartner, said India, like other emerging markets, continues to show strong momentum despite inflationary pressures and currency appreciation.

Telecommunications spend will continue to drive overall IT spend in 2013 as it is expected to reach US$47.8 billion, followed by the IT services market with US$10.3 billion. Hardware investments will culminate in US$9.5 billion, while software spending will reach US$4 billion, the report stated.

It also that in its latest CEO survey, 85 percent of CEOs believed they will be negatively impacted by the global economic slowdown but IT will remain well supported by CEOs compared with other areas of investment. Two-thirds of CEOs believe IT will make a greater contribution in their industries in the next 10 years than in any prior decade, and 40 percent of CEOs polled in the survey intend to increase their investments in IT, Gartner noted.

"IT is at the center of every business, every government agency from the backend and the edge, directly to the customer. These forces are innovative and disruptive just taken on their own, but brought together, they are revolutionizing business and society," Sondergaard said.