The British IT industry may benefit from improved foreign interest due to the weakening of sterling, it has been stated.

Michael Dean, the group marketing manager for the National Computing Centre (NCC), stated that despite the number of UK mergers and acquisitions dropping due to the lack of confidence in the economy of the British Isles, overseas buyers would most likely put money into the sector.

He continued: "The UK industry is strong in the mid-tier and many in this band are enjoying the benefits of significant government expenditure.

"With public sector expenditure looking stable, mid-tier vendors are looking like a good investment."

This may be beneficial for the industry, Mr Dean added, as the sector is healthy but "certainly not immune" to any wider repercussions which may come as a result of the economy on a wider scale.

As the largest and most diverse corporate membership body in British IT, the NCC promotes the effective deployment of computing as a means of maximising the nation's competitiveness as a whole.

More than half of small businesses (53 per cent) believe that the most important benefit of outsourcing is guaranteed response times for IT support. London-based Connect conducted the research in 2007.