ORLANDO – Worldwide IT spending is projected to surpass US$2.9 trillion in 2015 – a 3.9 per cent increase from 2014. Where will these new investments be made? What will be the impact on business? Here are Gartner’s top 10 predictions, as presented by  head of research Peter Sondergaard at the company’s recent annual Symposium and IT Expo.:

1. By 2018, digital business will require 50 per cent fewer business process workers and 500 per cent more key digital business jobs. Key areas are facing a severe shortage of skills. By year-end 2016, Gartner predicts that many digital transformation efforts will be unmanageable due to a lack of key skills.
2. By 2017 a new and significant digital business will be launched which was conceived by a computer algorithm. Analytics may support the process of planning a new business, but entrepreneurial thinking is seen as providing the inspiration and insight. Today, business models that drive businesses like car pickup service CIOs should steal these Internet of Things ideas from IDC