国际英语新闻：Global IT markets robust in first half of 2010: report

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Worldwide spending on information technology (IT) rebounded quickly and beat expectations in the first half of 2010, but still faces an uncertain future due to the possibility of a double-dip economic recession, research firm IDC said on Tuesday.

"The first half of 2010 was robust by any standards for the IT industry," Stephen Minton, vice president of worldwide IT markets and strategies at IDC, said in a statement.

In a new report released on Tuesday, IDC attributed the solid recovery of IT markets to capital spending on new hardware by businesses, governments and consumers taking advantage of a stabilized economy to work off pent-up demand for new personal computers and other equipment.

As a result, IDC said it is raising its projection for annual IT spending in 2010 to 1.51 trillion U.S. dollars, representing a growth of 6 percent over the previous year in constant currency.

According to IDC's forecast, the real strength of the IT markets rebound lies in emerging markets and China is expected to lead the way with a 21-percent growth in IT investment this year.

Among mature economies, the U.S. IT market is set to grow 5 percent and Western Europe, where economic recovery has been slower to materialize, is expected to post an IT spending growth of 3 percent in constant currency.

However, analysts at IDC also cautioned against excessive exuberance about the IT market.

"Our surveys indicate that businesses are still cautious about committing to new, long-term IT projects, and are still anxious about the possibility of a double-dip recession," Minton noted.

"Decision-making cycles remain long, and many enterprises have contingency plans in place for the next 12 months which could see more projects suspended," he said.

Based on a double-dip recession scenario, IT markets growth in 2011 could be flat with a less than 1 percent growth and recovery would be sluggish in 2012, IDC predicted.