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IT spending in EMEA is forecast to total $1.075 trillion in 2021, an increase of 2.8% from 2020, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc. IT spending in the region is expected to decline 6.5% in 2020.

“The combined effects of Brexit and the COVID-19 public health interventions will cause IT spending in EMEA to decline in 2020,” said John-David Lovelock, distinguished research vice president at Gartner.

“Before the pandemic, most organizations moved their digital strategies forward at a steady pace. The way forward in 2021 is for organizations is to increase, rather than decrease, the speed of their digital business initiatives and fund those initiatives by diverting funds from other areas of IT.”

Gartner analysts are discussing the macroeconomic trends affecting the IT market in EMEA during Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo EMEA, which is taking place virtually through Thursday.

Spending across all segments is expected to decline in 2020 (see Table 1). However, in 2021, as organizations start reconfiguring their business and operating models for a new reality, companies will increase their spending levels and shift the areas they are spending in.  

Table 1. EMEA IT Spending Forecast (Millions of U.S. Dollars)

Source: Gartner (November 2020)

How EMEA Organizations Will Procure Technology in 2021

Organizations have to respond to the public health interventions caused by COVID-19. One part of those efforts will be in spending on devices 2021. Devices spending by EMEA organizations will move from a decline of 15.1% 2020 to an increase of 1.7% in 2021. Thin and light notebooks spending is on pace to grow 10% and desktop-as-a-service platforms spending will achieve a steep increase of 60% in EMEA in 2021.

“The pandemic has forced employers to adopt remote working, turning it into a strategic workforce policy,” said Ranjit Atwal, research vice president at Gartner. “Mobile PCs are a necessity for remote work and EMEA organizations will re-focus some spending on mobile PCs.”

The speed at which remote working is occurring varies considerably around the world depending on IT adoption, culture, and mix of industries. The U.S. will lead in terms of remote workers in 2021, accounting for 52% of the U.S. workforce. Across Europe, U.K. remote workers will represent 48% of its workforce in 2021, while remote workers in Germany and France will account for 38% and 34%, respectively.

Investments in delivering technologies to support remote workers will fuel spending on these technologies in EMEA by 5% in 2021. EMEA organizations will increase their total spending on collaboration and content platforms (17%), security software (11%) and cloud conferencing unified communications (4%) in 2021.

More detailed analysis on the outlook for global IT spending is available in the Gartner webinar ”IT Spending Forecast, 3Q20: Technology Trends Accelerated by COVID."

The Gartner quarterly IT spending forecast delivers a unique perspective on IT spending across the hardware, software, IT services and telecommunications segments. These reports help Gartner clients understand market opportunities and challenges. The most recent IT spending forecast research is available to Gartner clients in “Gartner Market Databook, 3Q20 Update.” This quarterly IT spending forecast page includes links to the latest IT spending reports, webinars, blog posts and press releases.

About Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo

Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2020 is the world's most important gathering for CIOs and other IT executives. IT executives rely on these conferences to gain insight into how their organizations can use IT to overcome business challenges and improve operational efficiency. Follow news, photos and video coming from Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo on Smarter With Gartner, on Twitter using #GartnerSYM, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Upcoming dates and locations for Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo include:

November 17-19| Japan| Virtual

November 23-25| India| Virtual