European Union funding of IT markets will rise over the next 10 years to more than $27bn (£13.8bn), according to new research.

A study by analyst IDC finds direct and indirect sources of funding will boost annual IT spending growth by more than 2.2 percentage points over the 10-year period between 2004 and 2013.

This amounts to an additional $27.6bn that would otherwise have been unavailable for upgrading infrastructure, investing in software and employing service providers.

EU membership of the 10 states that joined the EU in 2004 has played a critical role in boosting their IT markets.

The impact of the increase will vary from country-to-country given the diversity of the business environments, the state of local IT development, and the level of entrepreneurialism, says IDC research general manager Steven Frantzen.

‘To encourage IT uptake and general business development, one thing IT providers will need to do is navigate the processes by which direct funds are awarded and the various legislative and reform initiatives that often depend on an IT solution,’ said Frantzen.

According the research, IT spending among EU member states will grow by nearly 12 per cent annually on average until 2013.

The cumulative effect of all the different EU components means that in 2013, total IT spending will be more than 22 per cent higher than it would have otherwise been.
The report says the EU’s broad range of policies and guidelines in which the use of information technology is crucial for compliance, has been a key IT market driver.

Another core driver is that European businesses are under pressure to adopt the technology and transparency standards of international players to deal with the increasingly competitive environment.