IT spending in 2016 is poised to recover from its record-breaking decline last year, according to Gartner.
The analyst house predicts that businesses' outlay on IT will grow 0.6 per cent this year to hit $3.54 trillion (2.47 trillion), after it dropped 5.5 per cent in 2015, when it fell by $216 billion (151 billion).
However, the $3.7 trillion spent in 2014 will not be surpassed for at least another four years, claimed Gartner.
Research VP John-David Lovelock said: "The rising US dollar is the villain behind 2015 results. US multinationals' revenue faced currency headwinds in 2015. However, in 2016 those headwinds go away and they can expect an additional 5 percent growth.
Software revenues are set to rise 5.3 per cent to hit $326 billion (228 billion) this year, compared to a 1.4 per cent decline in 2015.
Meanwhile, datacentre systems revenue will grow three per cent to reach $175 billion (122 billion) in 2016, as hyperscale infrastructure requirements push up demand for servers.
Gartner said: "The server market has seen stronger-than-expected demand from the hyperscale sector, which has lasted longer than expected."
IT services will also grow three per cent to record $940 billion (658 billion) in business, according to the analyst house, boosted by cloud adoption and widening acceptance of the cloud IT model.
Gartner predicted that device sales would continue to decline by two per cent, on top of a six per cent plummet last year, to hit $641 billion (448 billion), partly blaming weak tablet adoption in some regions.
However, it also said: "Ultramobile premium devices are expected to drive the PC market forward with the move to Windows 10 and Intel Skylake-based PCs."
