Global Technology Village

Tech Emergence in Emerging Markets
As technology adoption is increasing among emerging economies to pull off social and economic renaissance, organizations are exploring ways to source right solutions from vendors irrespective of their origin. 

Thus, a ‘borderless state’ will prevail within the information and communications technology (ICT) industry by 2015, according to research firm Gartner.  Organizations, including governments, will increasingly source their ICT from around the globe without regard to the ‘country of origin’ or ‘headquarters’ of the vendor supplying the solution, be it software, hardware, telecommunications, IT services, or people.
 
Although there is still a huge gap in the absolute sizes of emerging and mature ICT markets, emerging regions are rapidly catching up with mature markets in IT investments. According to Gartner, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2006 through 2011 shows that IT spending will represent 8.5% of combined total gross domestic product (GDP) in emerging markets. IT spending will be 4.3% of GDP in mature markets in the same period.

As the growth rates of emerging markets continue to accelerate and further expand beyond the current leaders – Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) – the power of these regions in the global IT industry is becoming more pronounced.

Gartner estimates that IT spending in the emerging markets will grow at a CAGR of 9.9% to reach $1.3 trillion by 2011, while in the mature markets it will reach $2.5 trillion in 2011, representing a CAGR of 4.6%.

In some segments, such as the telecom equipment market, emerging markets will overtake developed markets. In 2010, Gartner predicts that IT spending in telecom equipment in emerging markets will overtake that of mature countries, increasing its lead in 2011. By 2011, IT spending in telecom equipment will reach $263.5 billion in emerging countries, while in mature markets it will account for $236.5 billion.

These are among the findings from Gartner analysts who are studying the trends that encourage organizations to enter a ICT ‘borderless state’ while they focused on the Gartner Emerging Trends Symposium/ITxpo 2008, which took place in Barcelona last week.