APAC banks' IT spending to hit US$19.1b in 2017

It's a 4.7% increase from 2016.

With demand for digital banking services increasing at an unprecedented rate, Gartner predicts that the IT spending by banks in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea will hit US$19.1b in 2017, an increase of 4.7% from 2016. This includes spending on data centres, devices, software, IT services and telecom services.

Gartner adds that in USD terms, Singapore will have the highest growth rate in 2017 at 6.6%, followed by New Zealand at 6.5%.

The software segment will grow the fastest at 9.4% in 2017, as firms in the banking and securities industry invest more in applications, infrastructure and vertical-specific software. Solutions that help firms with “grow the business” initiatives are moving up in priority. The banking and securities industry has been increasingly trying to come up with partnerships or new models to tackle new incumbents from fintech, leading to increased attention and investments. 

“The banking and securities industry is working to reinvent the business models due to these new players and are trying to integrate the digital platforms firmly into business and operating models” said Moutusi Sau, principal research analyst at Gartner.