Tech spends to hit 10-year low this year due to pandemic, say analysts

In 2020, India will have the slowest tech spending growth in at least a decade on account of sharp economic disruption due to Covid-19 pandemic, according to analysts tracking the sector.

“In the best case, tech market growth will slow to 1.2 per cent in 2020 and jump back to 8.4 per cent in 2021. This scenario becomes less likely if India’s major economic hubs remain under strict lockdown beyond June. The other scenario is worse: Tech spending might contract by up to 4.8 per cent in 2020 with only a mild recovery, to 1.4 per cent growth, in 2021,” said Ashutosh Sharma, V-P and Research Director at marketing research firm Forrester, in a new report.

Forrester’s 2019 prediction had pegged tech spending growth at 7 per cent in 2020. But the country-wide lockdown in March brought everything to a grinding halt, leading to unprecedented economic woes not seen even during the 2008 global financial crisis. Forrester has had to revise its tech spending forecasts across the globe.