Growth will be forthcoming for small business in IT and the industry as a whole, new research from the International Data Corporation (IDC) shows.

Stephen Uden, the head of skills and economic affairs at Microsoft, said that over two-thirds of the companies in the ecosystem are small, local firms which deal with similar-sized IT organisations which, when working together, will play an important role as catalysts for local economic change.

He continued: "It is important to note that the demand for IT innovations will drive the creation of more than 75,000 new businesses between now and the end of 2013. Most of these companies will be small and locally owned organisations."

Mr Uden added that when Microsoft looks to job creation and associated factors in the IT support industry such as formation of new companies, they all point to the importance of local organisations in helping the UK recover and then grow sustainably.

Last month, the Economist Intelligence Unit, alongside the Business Software Alliance (BSA), claimed that the UK is the sixth-most competitive market for IT in the world.

A recent Connect survey found that the two major concerns about outsourcing services like IT support were 'loss of control' (56 per cent) and 'budget over-runs' (43 per cent).