Gartner: Digital Transformation Helps Push Up IT Spending

Digital Business Projects Take Hold

The push toward digital business is helping fuel a 2.4-percent jump in global IT spending this year, according to technology research firm Gartner.

In its second-quarter estimate, released Thursday, Gartner projected $3.5 trillion in technology spending for 2017, with the growth rate nearly double the 1.4 percent it forecast the previous quarter. The company cited the decline of the U.S. dollar against many foreign currencies for the jump in the growth rate.

"Digital business is having a profound effect on the way business is done and how it is supported," said John-David Lovelock, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner, in a statement.

Here are the top five spending areas Gartner cited in its forecast.