Forrester Lowers IT Spending Forecast AgainForrester Lowers IT Spending Forecast Again

The weakening economy has prompted Forrester Research to lower its expectations for U.S. and global IT spending for the second time since October.Forrester's original 2008 IT goods and services spending estimate was at an 8 percent growth; it lowered that forecast to 4.6 percent in December, and now, again, to 2.8 percent. Globally speaking, Forrester has scaled back its forecast for global growth to 6 percent, down from 9 percent.

"In the past two months or so, there has been clear evidence that the U.S. economy is in fact weaker," said Andrew Bartels, a Forrester analyst and the author of the new report, "Global IT 2008 Market Outlook," released today.

Bartels expects tech hardware, such as PCs, to be harder hit than software and services. For SMBs, that could translate to hardware pricing decreases as well as an increased power to negotiate prices.

Forrester's revised outlook also comes on the heels of a report from IDC, which, among other findings, said SMBs will continue to boost their IT spending this year.Computerworld,The Wall Street Journal