European IT market to defy credit crunch

The European IT market is defying the credit crunch, and is predicted to grow to €315bn (£298bn) next year.

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

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

The organisation predicted 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 percent, to €347bn.

Eito chairman Bruno Lamborghini said IT will prove 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 percent, to €983bn, according to the Eito forecast.