Global IT spending grew to $1.5 trillion in 2010

A recent report from research firm IDC found global spending for information technology grew by 8 percent in 2010, year-over-year, to reach $1.5 trillion. 

Along with telecom services, the information and communication technology market itself increased by 6 percent, reaching $3 trillion. Spending on hardware, computer systems, network equipment, mobile devices and more reach $661 billion, growing by 16 percent.

"Like the global economy, the global IT industry performed better than expected in 2010," said Stephen Minton, vice president of IDC's IT markets and strategies group. "With business profits and stock markets back into a cycle of growth, many organizations took the opportunity to make up for lost time by upgrading mission critical systems and infrastructure over the course of the year. While downside macroeconomic risks are still present, we entered 2011 on the back of a resounding rebound for the technology industry."

Spending on software and services grew by 4 and 2 percent, respectively. With adoption of cloud computing and other managed IT services expected to increase, these numbers should see a significant rise during the next several years.

In fact, Osterman Research recently reported investment in cloud computing will see a 10 percent increase during 2011.