Credit crunch can't cramp IT's €315bn style

Life gets harder in hardware

The European IT market is flouting the credit crunch and is predicted to grow to €315bn next year.

Strong sales in IT services will fuel two per cent growth in the IT market in Western Europe, according to forecasts by the European Information Technology Observatory (EITO).

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EITO predicts that software and IT service providers in the region will see turnover grow by 3.2 per cent year-on-year, to €228bn, compensating for a 1.3 per cent fall in turnover among hardware manufacturers, where turnover is expected to drop to €87bn.

The organisation predicts that the 15 core countries in Western Europe will be better able to withstand the economic downturn than the US, where IT turnover is forecast to grow by 0.8 per cent to €347bn.

EITO chairman Bruno Lamborghini said IT will be of strategic importance to companies during the downturn by helping them to save cash and boost efficiency.

The global IT market for 2009 will grow year-on-year by 2.7 per cent to €983bn, according to the EITO forecast.