Does 2012 spell doom and gloom for the tech sector?

So then: given the state of those numbers, is there still space for worry in the market? Inevitably, yes.

The Challenges

Firstly, Gartner, six days into 2012, revised its growth figures downwards, which did little to stem fears of a New Year hangover. There will still be spending gains across IT, but Gartner has moved its number for overall growth nearly a full percentage point down. Furthermore, there's continued uncertainty in many markets include Europe that means it'd be folly to rule out a further reduction in that forecast as the year moves on. It is, after all, a forecast at heart, and given circumstances show little immediate sign of improving, it's a figure that may yet get revised downwards again.

On top of that, as buoyant as some of the figures are, the problem here is that Gartner's research is based on worldwide spend, and inevitably, it's fast-growing, emerging markets not the UK, then that are shouldering most of the rise.

According to numbers from Ovum, for example, it's economies in the Asia-Pacific area that are set to grow the fastest in the retail banking technology sector, with Western Europe experiencing the lowest levels of growth. That's a story replicated across other areas of the market, too.

For sizeable firms with a global reach, the burgeoning markets are clearly very good news. But for small and medium sized business, that is looking for opportunities in already-mature geographic markets, it's more troubling. Certainly, Europe-centric businesses are facing some hefty challenges, and the IT sector offers no exception.