Report: Global IT spending to increase by 3.7 percent in 2011

According to a recent report from Boston, Massachusetts-based research and consulting firm Celent, global spending on information technology is expected to increase by 3.7 percent during 2011.

The firm's report, titled IT Spending in Financial Services: A Global Perspective, analyzed trends among many different verticals and regions to compile its data. The results found the fastest growth will occur in the financial services institutions in the Asia-Pacific regions, jumping by 6.2 percent this year. Meanwhile, IT spending among the insurance sector in North America and Europe will reach $98 billion.

"Insurers will still spend on technology, due to competitive pressures and efficiency mandates," the report states. "Overall life/health IT budgets will maintain their typical range of 3 percent to 4 percent of direct premium written. And property/casualty IT budgets will be at the top of that range due to continuing mandates to address inflexible legacy systems."

As companies begin to spend more on IT, managed IT services, such as cloud computing, have become popular options. Several recent reports support this trend. A recent IDC report found the cloud computing market will be worth nearly $2.4 billion by 2015, while Osterman Research polled 100 IT professionals and found the average investment in cloud computing will grow by 10 percent in 2011.