India IT and business services will grow 7.9% to $13.9 bn by 2019-end: IDC

The Indian infotech (IT) and business services market will grow 7.9% yearly to $13.9 billion (Rs 98,169 crore at current exchange rate) by the end of 2019, said a report by research firm International Data Corp.

This year, the market will grow 6.9% annually to $12.9 billion (Rs 91,106 crore at current exchange rate) by the end of 2018. 

IT services, which accounted for around 78% of the IT and business services spending in 2018 first half, are expected to grow 6.9% yearly to $9.9 billion (Rs 69,919 crore at current exchange rate) for 2018.

According to the report, the Indian economy rebounded in the first half of 2018, after slower growth in 2017, which led to higher government spending on technology initiatives, and more enterprise spending on digital technologies. This resulted in a sustained demand for services, especially around system upgrade. A greater positive impact on the IT services market is expected in one to two years. The faster growing services include hosting IT infrastructure services, hosted application management, application management and IT consulting.

International Data Corp. classifies IT services into three categories: Project-oriented services, managed services, and support Services. For 2018 first half (January to June), project-oriented services constituted the largest segment, followed by managed services, and support services, in that order.

"The demand for services around emerging technologies, such as cloud, artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation, and Internet of Things will be boosted in three to five years," said Ranganath Sadasiva, director, enterprise, International Data Corp. India.

Sandeep Kumar Sharma, associate research manager, software and services, International Data Corp. India, said, "Security services continued to gain ground in 2018 first half due to a rise in the nature and complexity of cyber threats and will grow at a compound annual rate of 20.7% between 2017 and 2022. Lack of awareness about the emerging cybersecurity threat landscape and an acute shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals in enterprises in India would further boost the demand for managed security services in 12 to 24 months."

International Data Corp. estimates that the IT services market will grow at a compound annual rate of 8.2% between 2017 and 2022, to reach $13.7 billion (Rs 96,756 crore) by the end of 2022.