Western European government IT spending to reach $49 bln in 2009

Western European governments will invest $49 bln in information technologies in 2009, according to IDC. This compares to $38 bln in 2004. Government IT spending in Western Europe will grow at an average 5.3% between 2004 and 2009, compared with 4.5% for the total IT market. Local authorities will grow from $18.7 bln in 2004 to $24.8 bln in 2009, a CAGR of 5.8%. Over the same period central government spending will grow 4.8%.