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SAN FRANCISCO, October 10 (AFP) – Information technology (IT) will generate 5.8 million new jobs in the coming four years, according to research released Sunday by International Data Corporation, or IDC.

IDC predicts that the IT industry will help economies out of economic doldrums, creating more that 75,000 new businesses in the next four years and adding jobs at a rate of 3% annually.

"Countries that foster innovation and invest in infrastructure, education and skills development for their citizens will have a major competitive advantage in the global marketplace," said Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) chief executive Steve Ballmer.

"In this fundamental economic reset, innovative technologies will play a vital role in driving productivity gains and enabling the creation of new local businesses and highly skilled jobs that fuel economic recovery and support sustainable economic growth."

US software giant Microsoft sponsored the IDC research into the impact of IT in 52 countries that represent 98% of the global IT-spending.

"IT spending growth is a good sign as we come out of the recession," Microsoft Corporate Affairs communications manager Scott Selby said.

Employment growth in IT related jobs will be three times that of overall job growth in what Selby said is a "good driver of economic growth."

While the world has been in the grip of a recession, it has also been in the midst of a "technology renaissance," flush with advances in software, devices, and Internet-based services, according to IDC.

IDC expects IT spending in the countries studied to grow at slightly more than 3% annually, three times as fast as gross domestic product between now and 2013.

In good news for Microsoft, spending on software is predicted to grow faster than overall IT spending, rising 4.8% annually.

"Software is a driving force behind this IT growth," Selby said. "IT allows us to do more with less."

New technologies are also ushering in a new "cloud computing" paradigm, in which applications are provided online as services instead of as software bought and installed on home or office machines, according to IDC.

Money saved by using software as needed "in the cloud" instead of buying, maintaining, and updating applications will likely be devoted to bringing new products or services to market faster and cheaper, according to Selby.

IDC estimates that cloud services could add $800 billion in net new business revenues between the end of 2009 and the end of 2013.

"Over the past 20 years, we've seen transformative power in how investments in IT innovations foster economic growth," said Robert D. Atkinson, founder of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation in Washington, D.C.

"Continued innovation and investment in information technology will help jump-start recovery from the current recession and will significantly contribute to the growth of employment and new businesses."