Hyderabad: Declining information technology (IT) spending by clients will bottom out in 2009 and will experience marginal growth in 2010, market research and advisory firm IDC has said.

Global IT spending is expected to grow 2.9% in 2010 before nearly doubling to 5.7% in 2012. However, it will decline by 1.8% in 2009, according to an IDC statement on Sunday.

IDC’s assessment is based on an analysis of “the five pronounced and several mini downturns in the global economy during the life of the modern computer era” as well as the views of “300 US CIOs (chief information officers) and business leaders polled each month…on their future ICT (information and communication technology) budgets”.

Indian IT services exporting firms reported declining revenues for the March quarter and have been giving flat or negative growth for the current fiscal, primarily due to reducing technology budgets of global clients.

According to Kapil Dev Singh, country manager of IDC India, countries such as China, India and the Philippines are expected to benefit the most from the revival in IT spending in 2010.

Industry body Nasscom’s growth projection for the sector stands at an average of 15% through fiscal 2011. This would take IT services exports in 2011 to $60 billion (Rs2.83 trillion), from about $40 billion now.

As a proportion of gross domestic product, the IT sector constituted 5.8% in fiscal 2009. Nasscom estimates IT sector exports have grown from below 4% of total exports in 1998 to nearly 16% in 2008.

lison.j@livemint.com