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End-user spending on enterprise application software in India is likely to total $4.7 billion in 2022, an increase of 14.8 per cent from 2021, a Gartner report said on Wednesday.

However, the growth in software spending will be lower in 2022 than in 2021 owing to a volatile global macroeconomic situation that has increased business uncertainty.

"Organisations will continue to put new long-term projects on hold selectively and cut the scope of high-cost projects and instead look to 'quick win' projects that either have a shorter return on investment (ROI) or provide a competitive edge," said Neha Gupta, vice president analyst.

The increased spending will be directed towards improving customers' digital experiences.

"Driven by the digital transformation agenda, Indian enterprises will continue to expand the share of software spending in their broader IT spending. Organisations are increasingly relying on software to operate all aspects of business," Gupta added.

Applications critical for maintaining the quality of customer service, like supply chain management (SCM), supply chain execution (SCE) and customer relationship management (CRM), will see increased spending as organisations look to address complex supply chains and volatile marketplaces, and more effectively adapt to change and disruption.

Spending on CRM software is forecast to grow 18.1 per cent in 2022, while SCM software spending will increase 10.2 per cent.

Indian businesses will also increase spending on email and authoring and content services to continue to support collaboration and remote/hybrid work, the report mentioned.