Worldwide IT spending is predicted to reach a total of $3.8 trillion in 2012, a 3.7 percent increase from 2011, according to the latest outlook by Gartner, Inc.

Worldwide IT spending totaled $3.7 trillion in 2011, up 6.9 percent from 2010 levels.

But new forecast shows slower spending growth in 2012 from the previous forecast of a 4.6 percent growth in all four major technology sectors, computing hardware, enterprise software, IT services and telecommunications equipment and services.

"Faltering global economic growth, the eurozone crisis and the impact of Thailand's floods on hard-disk drive (HDD) production have all taken their toll on the outlook for IT spending," said Richard Gordon, research vice president at Gartner.

Thailand floods left one-third of the country under water causing serious business implications worldwide which affected the growth in IT spending.

"Thailand has been a major hub for hard-drive manufacturing, both for finished goods and components," said Gordon.

"We estimate the supply of hard drives will be reduced by as much as 25 percent, and possibly more during the next six to nine months. Rebuilding the destroyed manufacturing facilities will also take time and the effects of this will continue to ripple throughout 2012 and very likely into 2013."

Gartner said no company will be entirely immune to the effects on the HDD supply chain, even those of larger companies in which will see fewer problems than others in the industry.

Gartner, the information technology research and advisory firm, has reduced its shipment forecast for PCs, which has impacted the short-term outlook for the hardware sector.

On the other hand, the Telecom sector which includes information and communication technology networks, is projected to show the strongest growth in equipment spending with increasing revenue at 6.9 percent in 2012, followed by the Enterprise Software market, which will grow 6.4 percent.

"With the eurozone crisis causing uncertainty for both businesses and consumers in Western Europe we have adjusted our forecast, and we expect IT spending in Western Europe to decline 0.7 percent in 2012," said Gordon.