Gartner sees global IT spending down 6 percent in 2009

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Research firm Gartner Inc(IT.N) expects global spending on information technology to fall 6 percent in 2009, sharper than an earlier forecast of 3.8 percent, due to the economic downturn and exchange rate movements.

"While the global economic downturn shows signs of easing, this year IT budgets are still being cut and consumers will need a lot more persuading before they can feel confident enough to loosen their purse strings," Richard Gordon, Gartner's head of global forecasting, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Global spending was expected to total $3.2 trillion in 2009, down from $3.4 trillion last year, said Gartner, which is the world's biggest technology research and advisory firm.

Computing hardware will see the steepest fall with a drop of 16.3 percent, while the software segment will hold up best with a drop of 1.6 percent, the firm forecast.

Spending on telecommunications was expected to fall 4.6 percent and IT services may see a 5.6 percent downturn, it said.

(Reporting by Bharghavi Nagaraju; Editing John Mair)