UK tech market worth £81bn

The UK has the second-biggest ICT sector in Europe, worth an estimated €92bn (£81bn), according to data from analyst firm Forrester.

Germany has the biggest ICT industry at €99bn, while France has the third largest. All three countries combined represent 50 per cent of the European ICT market.

And the Eurozone's ICT market is set to grow by 3.8 per cent in 2011 to total €553bn.

This compares with the US tech market at €738bn and Asia Pacific's at €675bn.

The data shows that all categories of the European tech market will rise moderately, led by software spending, at 6.9 per cent, with IT consulting and systems integration services second, growing at 5.9 per cent.

The outlook is better for 2012, with software purchases again leading the tech market at 9.8 per cent.

Author of the report, Andrew Bartels, argues that variations in economic growth, sub-par performance in euro-zone countries, and differences in tech adoption have fragmented the European ICT market.

Countries in the north and east have tended to be fast-growing, with countries in the middle  growing moderately, and countries in the south growing very slowly or even declining.

The countries that have experienced the greatest problems since the market crash of 2008 have the smallest ICT markets, with Greece, Portugal and Ireland at €8bn, €6bn and €3bn respectively. Iceland at €0.5bn is the smallest.

In terms of procuring computer equipment, the Nordics and Benelux outrank France; Spain is the largest European market for communications equipment; France is the largest European market for software; Germany and France are the largest buyers of IT consulting and systems integration services; the UK retains its lead as the largest IT outsourcing market; and Germany and France are the largest telecommunications services markets.