Manufacturing sector will spend more on IT this year: Gartner

Manufacturing and natural resources companies will spend Rs 40,800 crore on IT products and services in 2013 to improve productivity and competitiveness. This is a 9.1 per cent increase over 2012 revenues of Rs 37,400 crore. This forecast includes spending by manufacturers and natural resource companies on internal IT (including personnel), hardware, software, external IT services and telecommunications, according to research and analyst firm Gartner Inc. “Despite India’s slowing economic growth, manufacturing and natural resources remain large and important sectors in the Indian economy, and they are attracting increased IT spending to improve productivity and competitiveness,” said Ken Brant, research director for manufacturing at Gartner. The telecommunication, which remains the biggest spender in the manufacturing and natural resources sector, is forecast to reach Rs 13,200 crore in 2013. Meanwhile, software is achieving the highest growth rate amongst the top level IT spenders and is forecast to exceed 15 per cent in 2013. Gartner expects consulting services to grow by more than 22 per cent in 2013 alone as manufacturers are looking for implementations.