HP is claiming the title of biggest IT company in the world, surpassing major rival IBM last month when it reported fourth-quarter sales of $24.6bn (£13bn).

UK managing director Steve Gill says it is the first time a company other than IBM has been able to make such a statement.

‘This marks a historic moment in the industry and comes after we passed Dell in PC market share for the first time in three years,’ he said.

Although pleased with HP’s overall seven per cent growth, Gill says more organic and acquisition expansion is required.

‘Software is one area in which we see growth opportunities because the market is fragmented, so there is the potential for consolidation,’ he said.

‘Last month we completed the acquisition of Mercury Software for $4.5bn (£2.3bn), which doubled our software business, making us the sixth biggest software firm globally behind Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, SAP and Symantec.’

HP is predicting significant growth of blade servers next year: sales have risen 38 per cent in the past quarter, compared with nine per cent for non-blade servers, thanks to the technology’s versatility, ease of deployment and cost savings. Gill says HP will market it aggressively.

The company is also looking for growth in next-generation data centres, driven by utility computing, and convergence and mobility in its PCs.

HP also expects that last week’s public launch of Windows Vista will generate some growth through PC refreshes.

Gill says the company’s goal for 2007 is to build on the success of this year, which saw the firm refresh its portfolio of business products, including automated backup systems, a three-in-one docking station for tablet PCs and biometric technology for data protection.

‘The benefit of having a strong year is that it raises expectations for the following year,’ he said.

‘But we do not want to set easy targets, and have agreed on an aggressive set of goals that we think will help us take even more market share.’

Performance in the UK and Ireland, which represents about a third of HP’s business, has been a significant factor in the company’s success.

‘We took in excess of $6bn (£3.1bn), which we are pleased with because it is a tough, competitive market,’ said Gill.

Because the UK and Ireland is a mature market, HP is targeting incremental gains, compared with significant growth in new markets such as eastern Europe and Africa.

‘We may be the biggest IT vendor in the world, but there are still challenges and opportunities, and areas where we can improve,’ said Gill.