Despite the fact that research firm Gartner projects a 3.3 percent increase in global technology expenditure next year, the firm's Senior VP and global head of research, Peter Sondergaard, has advised IT leaders to refrain from being excessively optimistic.

In a statement cautioning the IT leaders, Sondergaard said: "While the IT industry will return to growth in 2010, the market will not recover to 2008 revenue levels before 2012."

Further, advising the IT leaders to make a shift from capital expenditure to operational expenditure in their 2010 budget plans, Sondergaard added that the coming year will be all about "balancing the focus on cost, risk and growth."

He added: "For more than 50 percent of CIOs, the IT budget will be zero percent or less in growth terms. It will only slowly improve in 2011."

Terming 2009 as the worst-ever year for the IT sector, Gartner analysts have forecast that global IT spending is heading towards a 5.2 percent overall plunge this year; with worldwide enterprise spending likely to tumble 6.9 percent. While worldwide hardware market will suffer an approximate 16.5 percent year-on-year fall in 2009; global telecom spending will witness a 4 percent decline.

However, with an expected increase in spending in 2010, Gartner said that the global IT services spending, which will probably total about $781 billion this year, will likely rise by 4.5 percent in
2010.