As worldwide information technology spending returns to solid positive growth, a 'tech resurrection' is slated for 2004.

However, the revived IT industry emerging from the market downturn of the past three years will not resemble the industry of the past 30 decades, according to IDC.

IDC, an IT and telecom advisory firm, predicts that instead of relying on vertically integrated proprietary systems and system software, the IT industry's business model is rapidly shifting toward standards-based commodity computing to meet the budget limitations and operational efficiency demands of its customers.

IDC believes the full impact of this shift will be felt for the first time in 2004 as the industry's leading hardware and software vendors begin to clash on this new battlefield.

Senior vice president of the firm, Frank Gens says that, "To succeed in this commodity market, vendors will have to learn how to differentiate their products without the protection of proprietary fences. This will present serious challenges for many of the major players and sets the stage for some major market shifts by 2007."

According to the report, IDC Predictions 2004: New IT Growth Wave, New Game Plan, released recently, IT spending will grow by between 6 and 8 per cent in 2004, creating a 'tech resurrection' in a year that will also see a continuation of trends such as offshore outsourcing of IT services, wireless technology adoption and brisk consumer spending on new-media technologies.

IDC predicts that the offshore IT services will continue to grow as service providers aggressively build their offshore capacity into their own delivery models and cost structure.

"Offshore outsourcing represents a structural shift that is just as significant to the services industry as commodity computing is to hardware and software makers," says Gens.

"It's a trend that's here to stay." IT suppliers will struggle to put on a business face as they reorient their product offerings to more clearly address high-priority business problems.

IDC also predicts that public Wi-Fi hotspots will continue to proliferate, nearly doubling worldwide to almost 85,000 in 2004 compared with 50,000 in 2003, while WLAN adoption in the enterprise will remain limited due to security concerns.

The report also predicts that a Radio Frequency Indentification bubble will form and then burst, as vendor spending outpaces consumer spending. Supermarkets such as WalMart and Tesco have already committed huge sums to the development of an RFID tagged product supply chain.

Software suppliers are advised to, 'focus investments less on generating RFID buzz and more on developing RFID support in their applications - order management, inventory management, warehouse management, transportation management, and distribution center and replenishment systems.'

China and Europe will act as powerful engines driving worldwide IT spending with a 'new' China consuming nearly $30 billion in products and services 2004, while the enlargement of the European Union drives 11 per cent of new IT spending in the overall Europe, Middle East and Africa region.

The consumer market is predicted to drive digital media development, with shipments of camera phones predicted to double to over 90 million.

Consumers will continue to be another important force in the market, as they embrace new technologies like cameraphones, DVD recorders, and broadband, challenging traditional media and consumer electronics suppliers in the process, IDC said.