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Overview:

* After a year of lower investments, 2021 is expected to see 6.2% growth in the technology sector;

* Largely because of the development of new solutions to help companies adapt to the “new normal,” even more products are expected to be built—attracting investors;

* Gartner research also points to the main sectors that should see higher IT investment: data centers, enterprise software, devices, IT services, and communications services.

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After a slowdown in 2020, IT investments are expected to return to meaningful growth in 2021. At least, that is what a recent Gartner study suggests, analyzing how digital transformation should evolve over the coming years.

According to the report, total investment for 2021 is projected to reach around US$ 3.9 trillion, which represents an increase of 6.2% compared to 2020.

In addition, the expectation is that in 2022 this number will grow even further, potentially reaching US$ 4.1 trillion.

It is also important to remember that with the pandemic—and the halt in IT investments—2020 saw a contraction of 3.2% compared to 2019.

However, experts say that is unlikely to happen again, since many technological solutions to help address the pandemic are being developed.

In this scenario, the success of those solutions requires continued investment in the sector.

In addition, developing systems and apps to support remote work, education, and new ways of living and working are also key reasons why growth is expected to return in 2021.

Another relevant point from the study is that by 2024, many companies will be forced to increase IT and digital innovation investments to survive in a post-pandemic world.

That’s largely due to permanent adoption of remote or hybrid work models, which require broad technological development to implement new solutions.

Which sectors should see the most investment?

1. Data center systems

According to Gartner, data center systems should be a sector that attracts investment throughout the year.

After limited growth in 2020, the expectation is a 6.2% increase compared to last year, totaling approximately US$ 228 billion.

This sector gained momentum in recent months due to high demand for cloud services worldwide.

With the expectation that many IT services will migrate to cloud computing, it is not surprising that investments are starting to increase.

In 2022, this value could reach around US$ 236 billion, which indicates accelerated growth in the coming years.

2. Enterprise software

Because companies need to adapt to remote work, one sector that should absorb a significant share of IT investments is enterprise software.

To increase team productivity, better understand data flows, and stay competitive, it becomes increasingly necessary to implement new tools dedicated to specific company areas.

That’s why Gartner experts expect US$ 505 billion to be invested in enterprise software, representing a jump of nearly 9% compared to last year.

A sign that investment should continue to rise is the 2022 projection.

According to the study, US$ 557 billion should be invested next year, bringing another significant increase—around 10% compared to 2020.

3. Devices

Driven by new demands caused by social isolation, Gartner also indicates that investment in devices should increase.

As countries continue with remote learning in universities and schools, there will be higher demand for mobile devices such as laptops, smartphones, and tablets.

And since many companies are also operating remotely, maintaining productivity requires devices that can support daily work needs.

For that reason, IT investments in devices are expected to grow by 8% this year, totaling approximately US$ 705 billion.

It is worth noting that the sector contracted by 8.2% from 2019 to 2020.

So, this increase is expected to deliver more convincing results starting next year, since in 2021 investment may mainly bring the sector back toward pre-crisis levels.

4. IT services

If there is investment in building new technologies and driving digital transformation, there is also investment in delivering technology services.

Especially due to the consolidation of cloud computing, software on demand, Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), and SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS products, growth is expected to be meaningful—creating new business opportunities for companies.

Based on this, Gartner projects 6% growth in IT services, totaling an investment of around US$ 1 trillion.

In 2022, that growth is expected to remain steady and increase slightly to about 6.3%.

5. Communications services

Finally, the communications sector is expected to take the largest share of IT investments.

With values that can reach around US$ 1.4 trillion, growth is expected to be 4.5% compared to 2020, which saw a contraction of 1.1%.

This sector was the most impacted—and accelerated—by social isolation, since every company needed to adapt the way it communicates.

Today, there are many different types of software and systems focused on business communications, so the expectation is that these investments will continue and increase gradually.