Finance and public sector lead European IT spend

The finance, public and healthcare sectors are going to be particularly fertile areas for IT vendors in Western Europe over the next few years, according to a recent report from market researcher IDC.

Healthcare has strengthened over the last year and IT spend in the sector from 2003 to 2008 is predicted to grow by 8.2 per cent annually, the highest rate of any sector examined in the report.

Finance will also be spending a fair amount on IT - $73.8bn by 2008, says IDC. The need to comply to new laws and regulations is part of what's driving growth here, along with improving customer interaction and operations management.

The public sector should be attractive to IT vendors as spending on e-government ramps up and then as IT is used to improve services, according to IDC.

The UK public sector looks to be particularly strong in terms of IT uptake, according to an earlier report from Pierre Audoin Consultants.

Growth at the local level will be quicker than in central government - 5.9 per cent versus 5.4 per cent annually from 2003 to 2008 - as local governments have both ample funding and a greater need for modernisation, says IDC.

As deregulation continues, IDC expects utilities to increase their spend on IT by 5.8 per cent over the five year period.

Another bright spot is communications, which should see IT investment turn positive in 2004, and total IT spend rise by 6.7 per cent annually until 2008.

Across all vertical markets in Western Europe, IDC predicts IT growth of 11.8 per cent annually from 2003 to 2008.

The report, Western European Information Technology Vertical Markets Spending, Forecast Update, 2003-2008, is available from the IDC website.