Your IT operations would not be unusual if they are constrained by significant budget pressures again this year, but IT spending in general is expected to grow 5.1 percent in 2011, according to Gartner. The research analysts revised upward an earlier prediction of 3.5 percent growth in spending.

Gartner anticipates less growth this year than last year in IT spending (the forecast for 2010 at this point is 5.4 percent growth) largely because of less spending on PCs. As investments in computing hardware fall in 2011, spending on IT services is expected to rise 2.1 percent. Telecom equipment and services are also seen as growth areas this year, with a particularly rosy outlook for mobile devices.

In the longer term, Gartner is forecasting an annual IT spending growth of about 4.5 percent.

For more:
- see the Gartner IT spending forecast

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