The world will shell out $2.4 trillion on technology in 2017, an increase of 3.5 percent from the year before, according to information technology analyst firm International Data Corp.’s updated Worldwide Semiannual IT Spending Guide: Industry and Company Size.

The firm also forecasts that of that amount, just under half will come from companies and organizations with 1,000 employees or more. IDC defines IT spending as money spent on software, hardware and services, and said the vast majority is purchased by businesses.

Still, consumer purchases will account for just over 20 percent of all technology revenues, though they will spend less on new devices as their priorities shift to things such as security, content management and file sharing. As a result, consumer technology spend in 2017 will only see a slight compound annual growth rate of just 0.3 percent.

As far as business purchases go, some 45 percent of IT spending will come from large enterprises, while small companies with less than ten employees will account for around a quarter. IDC reckons we’ll see a compound annual growth rate of 4.3 percent across businesses of all sizes. Financial firms and manufacturing businesses will account for 30 percent of all spending, as these industries embrace the shift towards cloud and mobile computing. However, its the professional services and healthcare industries that will see most growth, with compound annual growth rates of 5.4 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively.

On a regional basis, North America will spend more than any other, with the United States alone splashing out $920 billion on IT in 2017. Meanwhile, Western Europe will account for “slightly more than 20 percent of worldwide IT revenues,” edging past Asia-minus-Japan, which will spend “slightly less than 20 percent,” IDC said. The fastest growing region will be Latin America, which will see a compound annual growth rate of 5.3 percent.

Looking further ahead, IDC also predicts that software spending will finally outstrip that of hardware spending by 2020, thanks to the growth of cloud computing, which will eliminate the need for new hardware purchases.

Image courtesy of IDC