The Indian financial services industry (FSI) is expected to spend Rs 37,700 crore on IT products and services in 2012, an increase of 17.4 per cent over 2011, according to research firm Gartner.

The IT spending by the Indian FSI, which includes spending by insurers on internal IT (including personnel), hardware, software, external IT services and telecommunications, stood at Rs 32,100 crore in 2011, Gartner said in a statement.

"The real spend drivers will be the Indian retail bankers, although all financial services sectors including insurance and securities are increasing IT spend as they build out their infrastructures," Gartner Principal Research Analyst Derry Finkeldey said.

Telecommunications equipment and services would represent the biggest spending category and is forecast to reach Rs 13,100 crore in 2012, up from Rs 11,300 crore in 2011.

"Mobile is really top of mind for CIOs currently, and enterprise spend on devices is increasing and expected to grow by nearly 50 per cent in 2012. There is also a corresponding growth in mobile network services, of nearly 30 per cent," Finkeldey said.

This focus on mobility is a global trend, but particularly pertinent to Indian FSIs as they are all focused on leveraging the high mobile penetration to bring banking services to a wider audience, Finkeldey added.

However, spending on software is expected to grow the fastest in 2012, with revenue totaling Rs 3,400 crore in 2012, up 28 per cent from 2011 revenue of nearly Rs 2,700 crore.

This is being driven by a very high growth in enterprise software applications such as financial and administration packages, and customer relationship management, Gartner said.