国际英语新闻：Global IT spending to rebound in 2010: Gartner

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Global information technology (IT) spending is expected to return to growth in 2010, leaving the worst year ever behind, market research firm Gartner said on Monday.

    According to Gartner's latest forecasts, worldwide IT spending next year will climb to 3.3 trillion U.S. dollars, a 3.3-percent increase compared with 2009.

    Gartner also predicted that global IT spending as a whole will see a 5.2-percent drop year-on-year in 2009, and enterprise IT spending will fare worse with a decline of 6.9 percent.

    "While the IT industry will return to growth in 2010, the market will not recover to 2008 revenue levels before 2012," Peter Sondergaard, Gartner's global head of research, cautioned in a statement.

    "2010 is about balancing the focus on cost, risk, and growth. For more than 50 percent of CIOs (chief information officers) the IT budget will be 0 percent or less in growth terms. It will only slowly improve in 2011," he said.

    Analysts at Gartner noted that emerging regions will resume strong growth in the coming years and are expected to have increasing influences on the future of the IT industry.

    "By 2012, the accelerated IT spending and culturally different approach to IT in these economies will directly influence product features, service structures, and the overall IT industry. Silicon Valley will not be in the driver's seat anymore," Sondergaard said.