Growth could return to the European market for IT services in the next year, driven by IT outsourcing, experts have claimed.

Research carried out by industry analyst IDC suggested that the sector will face a tentative recovery throughout the rest of the current year, but will record a growth rate of 2.2 per cent in 2011.

Laura Converso, research manager for European software and services at the firm, said that demand for IT outsourcing and an increase in the number of IT projects being started will help to create expansion.

“We expect the ‘growth agenda’ to return slowly, bringing investments in business intelligence and industry-specific solutions, as well as the global rollout/integration of applications,” she added.

The report also said the UK is one of the countries expected to see better than average growth, as the country tends to make greater use of outsourcing.

TechMarketView recently predicted that the UK software market will soon start to recover from the recession and see healthy growth rates between now and 2013.