Dive Brief:

• Forrester Inc. said it expects the pace of technology spending to grow less in 2016 than it did in 2015, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

• The group projects tech spending will grow just 4.3% this year, compared to 4.8% last year.
  Total tech spending this year is expected to reach approximately $1.45 trillion, Forrester said.

• Companies are spending more on cloud and less on traditional technology, which is one of the factors attributed to the slowdown, according to the analyst firm. 

Dive Insight:

Forrester said political and economic uncertainties are also creating a cautious spending environment for buyers.

"Uncertainties about future U.S. economic growth due to energy prices, overseas growth, interest rates and equity markets, and the U.S. elections is dampening tech demand, especially for capital-intensive hardware and licensed software," the report said.

Increased use of cloud is also reducing the need for upfront hardware investments, "depressing traditional tech spending," according to the report. 

A May 1 report from Synergy Research found that the overall cloud market grew by an astonishing 50% in the first quarter of 2016, pulling in over $7 billion. Cloud adoption shows no signs of slowing down, so it’s likely that spending on traditional tech will continue to slow for several years to come.