2017 global IT spend growth estimate cut further to 2.4%

The firm had first predicted for a 3 per cent growth in worldwide IT spends, which got revised down to 2.7 per cent in January this year.

The downward revision in growth estimates comes amid growing anxieties over the future of the IT industry, with concerns surrounding automation and rising protectionism that is being blamed for job losses in the country.

The $155-billion Indian IT sector depends majorly on exports and industry lobby Nasscom had last month pegged a lower growth forecast of 7-8 per cent in exports in FY18.

"Digital business is having a profound effect on the way business is done and how it is supported," its vice president John-David Lovelock said in a statement.

He added digital business is giving rise to new categories like the the convergence of 'software plus services plus intellectual property'.

Stating that the focus now is on technology "disrupting and enabling businesses", he said the new technologies include Internet of Things in manufacturing, blockchain in financial services and other industries, and smart machines in retail.

The forecast growth is still faster than the 0.3 per cent achieved in 2016 and will take the industry to $3.477 trillion dollars, it said, adding this includes spends on hardware, software, IT services and telecom.

In 2018, the firm is forecasting for the spending growth to go up to 3.5 per cent to $3.598 trillion. The enterprise software category is forecast to grow the strongest at 7.6 per cent in 2017 to $351 billion, while the biggest category of communications services will grow the lowest at 0.3 per cent to $1.378 trillion, it said.

"With the increased adoption of Software as a Service-based enterprise applications, there also comes an increase in acceptance of IT operations management (ITOM) tools that are also delivered from the cloud," Lovelock said.

India's largest software services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Thursday reported a 5.9 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit to Rs 5,945 crore for the April-June quarter, hit by currency volatility.

It had posted a net profit of Rs 6,317 crore in the corresponding three-month period of the 2016-17 fiscal, the Mumbai-based firm said in a BSE filing.

The company, however, posted a marginal increase of 1 per cent in its consolidated revenue at Rs 29,584 crore during the quarter as against Rs 29,305 crore in the year-ago period.

When compared to the January-March 2017 quarter, its net profit during the period under review fell 10 per cent, while revenue slipped 0.2 per cent.

TCS Chief Financial Officer V Ramakrishnan said during the quarter, high currency volatility, including sharp rupee appreciation against the dollar, resulted in Rs 650 crore loss in reported revenues.

"We remain disciplined in our financial management, stay focused on generating strong cash flows and invest in our digital business," he said.

Despite the impact of wage hikes in the first quarter, TCS continues to drive profitability to its targeted range, Ramakrishnan added.

TCS CEO and MD Rajesh Gopinathan said the company has seen steady growth across industries in the first quarter of the fiscal.

"We have had excellent wins across all markets and have a good deal pipeline across industries that positions us well for growth in FY18," he added.

The company has announced interim dividend of Rs 7 per share.