Larger businesses are more likely to use bigger software companies and seek IT outsourcing, an expert has claimed.

Jass Sarai, head of software and IT services at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said while big firms look for IT support from large corporations, small businesses took a more compartmentalised approach towards computer technology.

“Larger corporations have a much more integrated approach towards their IT so they are likely to go to the bigger players like the IBMs of this world who might outsource software and might have third-party software,” added Mr Sarai.

Small firms prefer to use applications which provided the best solutions, rather than searching out larger vendors that offer end-to-end solutions, he claimed.

British companies account for 15 per cent of the top 100 software firms in Europe, according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

These UK businesses generate significantly more wealth than their western European counterparts with worldwide revenue of ?13.3 billion.