More Than Three Quarters of IT Pros Have Considered Setting up Their own Business

Latest Survey From The IT Job Board Indicates Techies Still Feeling Uncertain About Their Jobs

LONDON, November 10 - Over half (52 percent), of IT pros believe that now would be an ideal
time to set up their own business, and a further 82 percent have thought
about 'going it alone' at some stage in their career, according to a survey
from The IT Job Board[1].

But, when it came to finding out if they would ever 'take the plunge', a
further 52 percent of those surveyed said they wouldn't establish their own
business. This was due to the fact that financing would prove too much of a
barrier to entry (40 percent), and because there are too many risks attached
(37 percent).

44 percent of those interviewed had already set up their own companies;
35 percent did so because they had been made redundant. 18 percent had made
the lifestyle decision, because they had always wanted to.

When talking about the problems they had faced in setting up on their own
business, 40 percent said there had been barriers to entry, which, for 33
percent of those polled, included experiencing difficulties in raising the
finance.

90 percent of business owners had been self-funded, and 88 percent said
that they were unaware of the government funding that was available to them
at the time.

Commenting on the survey findings, Jamie Bowler, head of marketing at The
IT Job Board, said: "I was amazed to hear that more than three quarters of
those interviewed have - at some stage - considered setting up their own IT
business. This is probably down to the job uncertainty that still exists in
the sector.

"Already large numbers of IT specialists have established their own
companies, and the survey indicated that many of them had been led to doing
this through redundancy. It is positive to see that, in spite of this, they
are continuing to focus on growing and continuing to establish the UK IT
sector."

Notes to editors

About The IT Job Board:

The IT Job Board group of companies was set up in April 2002
in recognition that recruitment in the IT sector was increasingly dominated
by the internet.

Online technology enables sophisticated targeting - for
example by skill, region or experience - of www.theitjobboard.co.uk's
database of 800,000 IT professionals. The IT Job Board always tries to get
closer to candidates either via planned content campaigns, or through the use
of social networks.

The site also offers employers services such as branded job
postings, a featured employer zone, targeted email campaigns and guidance on
advertising copy. The managed campaign service filters responses to provide
companies with a shortlist of applicants most suitable for the advertised
position.

www.theitjobboard.co.uk's clients include IBM,
Unilever, The University of Portsmouth, HMGCC and Hackney Homes.

[1] 490 respondents interviewed on the theme of `Start Ups' (October2009)

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    Publicite Ltd
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For further information, interviews and photography please contact: Katrina Suppiah, Publicite Ltd, T: +44(0)20-8543-6582, E: k.suppiah at publicite.co.uk