Report: Global IT Spending To Reach $1.3 Trillion By 2009Report: Global IT Spending To Reach $1.3 Trillion By 2009

A research firm is predicting that IT spending will reach $496.7 billion in the United States and $1.3 trillion globally by 2009.

Healthcare, government, utilities and communications and media sectors are expected to pace worldwide IT spending to 2009, according to the study released this week by IDC.

In the U.S., the drive by government to privatize large installations will be a major factor in pushing IT services spending, IDC said, noting that IT spending in the government should reach $43 billion by 2009.

Citing the healthcare industry's drive to wire its entire infrastructure, one IDC analyst noted that the industry collectively is seeking to decrease medical errors like drug dosage mistakes.

"A large amount of the spending in the healthcare industry will be attributed to the purchase of volume servers and software," said Anne Songtao Lu, who is IDC's Worldwide Vertical Markets Program Manager, in a statement.