Gartner: IT Services Revenue Up 6% in ’05

Total revenue for global IT services grew to US$624.4 billion in 2005, a 6 percent year-on-year increase, research firm Gartner said Tuesday.

IBM led the sector with 7.6 percent market share, followed by Electronic Data Systems (EDS) with 3.2 percent. However, IBM’s services business grew only 2.5 percent in 2005, while EDS’s presence actually declined by 0.5 percent.

Although outsourcing revenue had been the primary driver of the services market since 2000, project-based services and software support generated in 2005 grew at a greater than average rate, Gartner said.

Services for the health-care industry grew the most in 2005, with $19.4 billion as compared to 2004’s $17.9 billion, but the financial services industry remains the largest market for IT service providers. That sector saw 7 percent growth in 2005 over the previous year, with revenue of $141.3 billion.

-Steven Schwankert, IDG News Service (Beijing Bureau)

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