1、M&A market report 2H 2024 IT&BusinessServices1|10 IT&Business Services M&A Overview 2H 2024Generative AI a key driver as global IT spending soarsA new survey by TechTarget/Enterprise Strategy Group,found that cybersecurity technology is the highest-priority spending target of global IT decision-make

2、rs.This is motivated not only by mass digitalisation and integration presenting ever-larger attack surfaces for threat actors to exploit,but also by the need to comply with regulatory frameworks such as the EU Common Cybersecurity Certification Scheme.Zero-trust models,which require users to be cont

3、inuously verified and authorised when accessing networks,are in demand,providing opportunities for vendors specialising in real-time monitoring technologies.One countervailing pressure noted in Hampleton Partners last IT&Business Services report was“change fatigue”,with tech project proliferation da

4、mpening CIO enthusiasm for yet more disruption.This led to analysts trimming their IT services spending forecasts at the start of the year,but Gartner has since reported that“contract backlogs going back to the third quarter of 2023 are being cleared”,causing change fatigue to abate and setting the

5、stage for an expected rise in IT services spending towards the close of 2024.Businesses are digging deep into their pockets to ensure IT infrastructures stay competitive in an age of game-changing innovation,with Gartner recently revealing that global IT spending is expected to reach$5.26 trillion t

6、his year.Markedly higher than the previous forecast of$5.06 trillion,this growth is largely being propelled by generative AI,with Gartner underscoring the“ravenous demand”for data centre systems able to handle the immense computing power requirements of AI.Data centre spending alone is set to increa