IT spending in Europe will virtually grind to a halt this year and next due to economic uncertainty over the euro currency, according to a Forrester Research. "The most likely result is either near-zero growth or economic recession in 2012, depending on the country," Forrester analyst and lead report author Andrew Bartels wrote. "The worst case is a possible collapse of the euro and a resulting depression."

It is likely that European officials will "do just enough" policy-wise to avoid that worst-case scenario, Bartels added. Under those circumstances, IT spending growth will still only amount to 0.3% this year. But if the euro collapses, tech spending in Europe will fall dramatically, Bartels said. "CIOs need to match IT spending plans with this bleak outlook for 2012 while preparing contingency plans for a euro collapse and hoping for somewhat better prospects in 2013," he added.

 Source: Computerworld