Gartner: 2013 Tech Spending To Rise 5.6%; Cloud To See Top Gains

Technology spending this year is expected to rise about 5.6 percent to $3.7 trillion, market researchers at Gartner (NYSE:IT) predicted, with the strongest gains coming from cloud technologies.

That’s a considerable improvement over 2012’s 2.35 percent gain on spending of only $3.58 billion, the Stamford, Conn., forecaster said. The main reason is that overall economic growth should increase, along with resulting demand for technology services, from telecommunications to devices.

Demand for electronic devices ranging from smartphones to tablets will rise 6.3 percent to $666 billion, as demand for PCs eases but thirst for tablets grows as replacement devices or first devices for consumers and business, Gartner estimates.

Meanwhile, services in the cloud for Internet-based services should climb nearly 50 percent for infrastructure, application, security and management services, with the biggest demand coming from companies in insurance, transportation, banking and securities, Gartner said.

By contrast, government demand for cloud services is expected to rise only 1 percent.

Shares of Gartner rose 45 cents to $49.03 in late Tuesday trading.