A technology research firm is predicting a major improvement in the fortunes of the sector it operates in following months of research.

Gartner believes the technology market will bounce back after taking a hit due to the current economic climate, with confidence being slowly restored to the industry after reaching its bottom in recent months.

"Almost all sectors of the electronic equipment market have now hit bottom and await signs of 'first growth' in comparison with the same quarter last year," said Klaus Rinnen, the managing vice-president at the firm's semiconductor manufacturing organisation.

The increased purchasing of PCs will lead the charge, though it is doubtful that the full extent of this recovery will be seen in the sector until the next financial year.

Last week, Gartner predicted that the Android, Google's smartphone offering, will be number two in its market by 2012, taking 14.5 per cent of the market - a vast jump from its current share of two per cent.

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.