The IT market is moving at full steam, with the help of the digital transformation: Italian data confirms great opportunities for professionals and companies in integration.
To illustrate the dual trend of 2019, we’ll paraphrase the title of the historic television quiz show: it’s Double or Nothing for Italian Information Technology. Digital investments are in excellent health, accompanied by the twofold increase in the IT market compared to 2018, up +3.8%, despite the stagnation of GDP; the TLC front, however, is not doing so well, falling by 2.7%. Software grew by +5.7%, hardware swung back in the positive at +6.2%, while IT services stopped at a modest +1.4%.
What do the latest Assintel figures tell us? Undoubtedly a large part of IT spending is driven by investments in business projects related to the digital transformation. This is confirmed by the surprising growth of emerging technologies, which have now invaded “our” market of AV integration and corporate systems:
- Internet of Things: +24%;
- Artificial Intelligence: +39.1%;
- Augmented and Virtual Realities: +160.5%;
- Wearable devices: +116.2%.
The boom in digital interconnection services also continues: +26.1% for the Public Cloud and +7.6% for Big Data & Analytics solutions.
Companies invest in digital
Accompanying the study is an interesting survey on the investment “intentions” of companies in 2020. Interviews with 1,000 companies provide a positive assessment of IT spending: more than 16% of the businesses involved plan to expand their budgets, while only 10% consider reducing spending in 2020. In terms of size, growth is mainly driven by medium and large companies: 25% and 23% of respondents replied positively. The feedback from micro and small businesses, on the other hand, brings down the overall performance of the coming year: only 10% and 7% show a willingness to spend on IT solutions, but the picture remains promising.
“The challenge for the Italian ICT community is to drive the digital transformation, really putting itself to the test – comments the president of Assintel, Paola Generali – internally, by redesigning its business models, and externally, by acting as a cultural driving force towards the systems of private companies and public administration”.
The prospects for the integration sector therefore seem to confirm the growth of related services, considering the professional side of corporate systems and commercial environments, towards major goals of operational and energy efficiency for businesses.
About Assintel
Assintel is the national association of ICT and Digital enterprises of Confcommercio – Imprese per l’Italia. It represents its member companies before national and international authorities, bodies and institutions, protects their interests and acts as a spokesman for the needs of the various types of companies operating in the information and communication technology market. Among the priorities of the association is the promotion of the development of digital culture in the national economic system.
Find out more about the Assintel Report 2020
