Modest European economic growth will lead to a 2.3% rise in tech spending in 2014 and accelerate to almost 5% in 2015, according to Forrester’s annual European tech market outlook. Software spending will have the highest increase in 2014 across Europe, with customer-facing technologies for sales and marketing, mobile and analytics technologies, and big data most in demand. Computer equipment — with the exception of tablets — will remain weak. Non-Euro countries will do better than those in the eurozone, where most countries will see tech growth of around 2%.

“The problem is that the Eurozone countries, while at least pulling out of recession, are still experiencing feeble economic growth. That will leave European CIOs being very cautious and conservative in their tech purchases in 2014,” writes Forrester analyst Andrew Bartels in his blog post on the report. “Not until 2015, when we assume that economic growth will start to solidify, will European tech markets return to healthier rates of expansion and growth.”

Other findings from the report include:

  • The UK, Benelux, Central Europe, and the Nordics are doing the best. The UK’s 2014 tech purchases of €98 billion (£79 billion) will represent a 4.9% rise from 2013, the best growth of any European country. Germany’s tech market has now dropped behind the UK’s, with its €92 billion tech market rising by only 1.2% from 2013. At €77 billion, France’s tech market will see growth of less than 1%. 
  • Europe’s tech market has moved ahead of that of Asia Pacific in size: Western and Central Europe’s tech market in 2014 will be €568 billion, compared with €900 billion in the Americas and €527 billion in Asia Pacific. The two largest country markets in Europe — the UK and Germany — remain the fourth- and fifth-largest tech markets in the world, after the US, Japan, and China.