Enterprise software revenue to exceed £150bn in 2010

Sales will dip in Europe but grow elsewhere

Analyst firm Gartner predicts that global enterprise software revenue is set to surpass $232bn (£150bn) in 2010, a 4.5 per cent increase on 2009's figure of $222bn (£142bn).

North America is driving the growth, with its spending forecast to reach $111bn (£71bn) in 2010, an 8.5 per cent increase on 2009.

Gartner research director Colleen Graham said: "The earnings are driven primarily by pent-up software demand which was likely to have been most felt in the first half of 2010."

Graham added: "A loss of momentum and general economic weakness will see organisations exercise caution when purchasing software at the end of the year, but key markets such as virtualisation, operating systems and security are forecast to experience double-digit growth for the year."

Gartner identified some regional differences in predicted software sales growth. Asia Pacific will see a rise of 11.5 per cent this year, while western Europe will lag behind with 2.7 per cent. However, sales in the overall EMEA region will decline.

The analyst firm estimates that revenue in western Europe will reach $64.5bn (£41bn) in 2010, a 3.4 per cent fall against the $66.8bn (£43bn) reported in 2009.

However, the market is expected to reach $76.2bn (£49bn) by 2014, and the UK is showing "promise" when it comes to growth.