The drop is the fourth year in a row that Slovenia's IT services market has contracted, said the Ljubljana branch of the IDC, blaming this on the recession and the subsequent shrinkage in IT budgets.

The crisis is reflected in a greater portion of corporate IT budgets being set aside for investments in maintenance of existing equipment, while spending on project services and outsourcing of IT services has fallen more pronouncedly.

Moreover, the IDC found that the renegotiation of IT service contracts has forced providers to lower their prices to levels that endangers the quality of their services.

It also established a growing demand for cloud services, which has prompted changes in the industry that are being reflected in acquisitions and globalisation of services.

The study also found that the companies ComTrade and SRC were the most successful Slovenia IT service providers abroad and at home, respectively.

The public administration, financial institutions and the telecommunications sector remained the biggest customers for IT services in the country last year, generating around 50% of all demand.