IT contractors could see an increase in job opportunities as awareness of the benefits of cloud computing continues to grow among businesses, according to a leading supplier of the service.

Adoption of cloud computing systems is now growing at six times the rate of normal traditional IT, according to the latest research from the market intelligence company International Data Corporation (IDC).

Now that businesses are becoming aware of the benefits of using a cloud system rather than having computers and net servers in the office, they will "flock" to incorporate it into their own IT strategies, according to Rob Lovell, chief executive officer at cloud computing platform provider ThinkGrid.

"The acceleration now of people understanding it is getting more pervasive. There's still so, so far to go but we've got the momentum starting to build now," said Mr Lovell.

In announcing the IDC figures, Frank Gens, chief analyst and senior vice president at IDC, said that cloud computing is "moving to the top of many chief information officers' strategic considerations, often at the request of their senior executives."