Worldwide tech spending could fall in 2016, according to a new estimate from research firm IDC. “Economic weakness in emerging markets and saturation of the smartphone market [could] combine to result in a significantly slower pace of tech spending growth compared to the past six years,” the firm wrote in a research note accompanying the data. A burgeoning market for mobile devices such as smartphones helped buoy the tech-spending market in 2015, despite a decline in spending on traditional PCs. Businesses also spent heavily on software, including cloud-based services. Despite weaknesses in big markets such as China dragging down worldwide tech spending, the market within the United States could remain stable in 2016. “U.S. businesses continue to invest strongly in 3rd Platform solutions around Big Data, Cloud, Mobile, and Social,” IDC wrote. “The ‘new normal’ of 4 percent annual growth in IT spending is likely to continue in 2017, assuming the overall economy remains in line with current expectations.” The key element, of course, is “current expectations.” Although the overall economy remains strong, recent turbulence in the stock market has sparked fears among certain pundits that we’re in the midst of a tech bubble. But whether or not the “unicorn” startups manage to maintain their stratospheric valuations in the near-term, the fact remains that companies across the country still need to spend money on hardware and software—which opens up opportunities for the tech pros who build and maintain those products. Stable spending is also great for those tech pros who specialize in hardware and software procurement, for obvious reasons. Who doesn’t want to buy the latest, greatest toys?