IDC: Steady Growth for IT and Business Services

Worldwide IT and business services revenues are expected to grow by 5.6% in 2022, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Semiannual Services Tracker.

The 2022 market growth represents an increase of 160 basis points from IDC’s October 2021 forecast, reflecting robust 2021 bookings and pipelines by several large services providers, an improved economic outlook (compared to the previous forecast cycle), and inflationary impact on the services market. The positive trend is expected to be slightly offset by the negative impact of the Ukraine/Russia conflict.

IDC believes that the market will continue to expand throughout the next few years at a rate of 4-5%, representing an overall increase of 40 to 80 basis points each year, pushing the market’s long-term growth rate to 4.6%, up slightly from the previous forecast of 4.3%.

The Americas services market is forecast to grow by 5.3% in 2022, up 150 basis points from the October 2021 forecast. This is attributed to a faster economic rebound and the impact of inflation. IDC believes that the trend will continue in the short-term: 2022 and 2023 growth rates were adjusted up by 150 and 100 basis points, or around 4% year-over-year growth for the next five years.

Mid- to long-term growth prospects for Canada and Latin America improved marginally. Both regions will continue to see recovery well into 2022 and 2023. Latin America’s near-term growth outlook is further lifted by the commodity price rally since March.

The outlook for the U.S. market has also been also adjusted up by 160 and 80 basis points for 2022 and 2023, respectively. The adjustments were made across all markets. The improved economic outlook and vendors’ strong bookings and pipelines in the world’s largest services market partially drove this upward change, while the rest can be attributed to our inflation impact assumptions, especially in project-oriented markets. The long-term U.S. growth prospect remains largely unchanged.

Channel Impact^®
The data are encouraging for channel partners and industry professionals of all types.