Software spending trends indicate enterprise reliance on computers

Projected enterprise software spending trends suggest a greater reliance on desktop, laptop and tablet computers in the workplace.

Market research firm Gartner projected a 9.5 percent increase in enterprise software revenue in 2011, growth that stems from overall economic improvement and the rush to incorporate new technology. By the end of 2011, the firm predicts enterprise software revenue to exceed $267 billion, a positive sign after just $244 billion in 2010.

The top trend driving this growth, Gartner said, is increased interest in operating systems. With more updated operating systems being installed on desktop and laptop computers in the enterprise, Gartner predicts OS revenue to reach $32.6 billion this year.

However, tablets, as long expected, may also have a serious impact on IT spending. Gartner forecasted 10.2 percent growth in enterprise application spending, which would bring the market to $114.4 billion in 2011. Because the application experience is more engaging and can be more productive with tablets, it's no surprise that there's an increase in enterprise spending on applications.

In fact, Gartner expects businesses to flock to tablets this year. In its global IT spending forecast released earlier this year, the firm projected enterprise spending on tablets to grow from $9.6 billion last year to $29.4 billion through 2011.