IT services back in growth

The IT services sector will be buoyed by reports that global business spending on IT services increased by 3.1 per cent since 2009 to reach $793bn (£480bn) in 2010, according to Gartner.

The IT service market saw a 5.1 per cent revenue decline in 2009 but has bounced back in 2010, as the effects of the global recession of 2008 and 2009 begin to die down.

IBM remains the dominant force in the market, retaining its number-one market share position. The company's revenue increased by 2.6 per cent to a total of $56.4bn (£34bn), amounting to a 7.1 per cent market share.

However, such household names are seeing a real threat from services companies based in India, said Dean Blackmore, senior research analyst at Gartner.

"Although global sourcing makes the location of a provider's headquarters less relevant, we found that India-based vendors continue to grow above the market average and, therefore, continue to gain market share," he said.

"In a market that grew 3.1 percent in 2010, India-based vendors grew 18.9 percent, increasing their market share from 4.8 percent in 2009 to 5.5 percent in 2010."