Bangalore: India's IT (Information Technology) services end-user spending grew by 8.2 per cent in revenue, which totalled $ 1.4 billion in 2002, according to research and advisory firm Gartner Inc.

After many years being in the focus for investors, the Asia Pacific IT services market performed at its weakest in terms of growth rates, as end-user spending on it services totalled $ 20 billion in 2002, at a three per cent growth from 2001 results, a Gartner Inc statement said.

On a worldwide IT services performance, Gartner analysts said 2002 was the first year the industry suffered a decline of 0.6 per cent in revenue at $ 536 billion in 2002, as market consolidation impacted larger and small players.

"The Indian IT services market is not yet a mature market. IT investments is still seen largely as an ambitious investment rather than as a necessary investment," said Ravindra Datar, principal analyst, IT management services for India.

"While the use of IT has started penetrating to smaller scale users, bulk of the investment is still being done by the larger enterprises that have multi-locational presence and can benefit the most by quick access to information critical for making decisions," he added.

PTI