India's IT spending to hit $110 bln in 2012-Gartner

BANGALORE, Sept 11 (Reuters) - India's information technology (IT) spending is likely to double by 2012 from 2007, reaching $110 billion as companies and state-run organisations boost efficiency, a report released on Thursday said.

IT spending in 2008 is on track to reach $64.7 billion, a 17.2 percent increase from $55.2 billion in 2007, research and advisory firm Gartner said.

While financial services and telecommunications firms are the biggest spenders on IT, the growth is also likely to be aided by services, manufacturing, government, and small- and mid-sized organisations, it said.

Spending on telecommunications technologies in the world's fastest-growing wireless market is expected to grow to $82 billion in 2012 from an estimated $49.8 billion in 2008.

Telecoms equipment makers Ericsson (ERICb.ST) and Nokia Siemens Networks [NSN.UL] are competing with four other firms in a tender potentially worth $9 billion to provide wireless infrastructure to India's Bharat Sanchar Nigam. [ID:nBOM82279]

Gartner said spending on software services and applications will rise to $3.4 billion in 2012, growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 16.3 percent from 2007, while spending on computers will almost double in the period to $12.9 billion.

Services such as network security and enterprise application projects will rise to $11.8 billion, from $4.7 billion in 2007, Gartner said.

Global technology firms like IBM (IBM.N), Accenture (ACN.N), and Sun Microsystems (JAVA.O) are increasingly competing for outsourcing deals in the Indian market, as banks, retail, and small-sized companies boost investments on technology.

India's export-driven software services firms like Infosys Technologies (INFY.BO) and Satyam Computer Services (SATY.BO) are also vying for a piece of the domestic market, as demand from their key United States and European markets slow. (Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by John Mair)