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The IT services market is expected to weather the current economic storm and remain strong, according to Gartner.

End-user spending is to exceed $819 billion (£409 billion) in 2008, a growth of 9.5 per cent from 2007, predict the analysts.

However, the first half of 2008 has shown mixed results, with both optimism by some and delays in projects for others.

‘In the first quarter of 2008, results for the top nine providers came in above expectations, and several market leaders have expressed optimism for the remainder of 2008,’ said Gartner’s research vice president Kathryn Hale.

‘However, at the recent Gartner Outsourcing Summit in Washington DC in May of this year, some providers indicated that some outsourcing contract signings are being delayed and some projects are being placed on hold.’

Core outsourcing is still the largest growth area in the market, with core outsourcing services in 2008 set to make up 42 per cent of all IT services end-user spending.

Consulting and development and integration are growing steadily due to a demand for cost reduction.

These areas are forecast by Gartner to reach $327 billion (£163 billion) in 2008, a growth of 10.1 per cent from 2007.

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Many businesses are less prepared than they think when it comes to using Web 2.0 technologies, a new survey has suggested.

While almost 97 per cent of companies polled by Forrester Research for Secure Computing said they believed themselves to be ready for internet threats, more than two-thirds admitted to needing to do more.

And when asked how regularly they fall foul of malware attacks, 79 per cent of respondents said they did so frequently.

‘The need to keep inappropriate content at bay, reduce non-business bandwidth consumption and limit exposure to internet threats gave rise to the industry of web filtering,’ the report stated.

It added: ‘The need for more effective web protection has never been greater.’

Earlier this week, Antti Ohrling, founder of mobile firm Blyk, told the MediaGuardian Changing Advertising Summit that experts were wrong to assume that Web 2.0 could enjoy the same level of success on mobile phones as it has done on the traditional internet, the Guardian reports.

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