DOWNWARD: Research firm Gartner Inc. has lowered its global technology spending growth forecast because of the sluggish economy and the euro crisis. Gartner now expects worldwide spending on technology to grow by 3.7 percent this year, rather than its earlier forecast of 4.6 percent growth.
PARTICULARLY TOUGH: The computer hardware sector will be the hardest hit, hurt by supply constraints in the hard disk drive industry because of flooding in Thailand.
LONGER TERM: Through 2015, Gartner expects tech spending to grow by 5 percent, down slightly from its earlier forecast of 5.4 percent growth.