As IT executives again ramp up their use of systems integrators for help in aligning technology and business needs, the market has a new leader: Accenture.

Accenture knocked IBM from the spot it has dominated since IDC began tracking the systems integration market in the late 1990s, the research firm says in a report it issued this month . In that report, IDC analysts say Accenture is cashing in on a market that is on the upswing.

"After years of sluggish returns and historic lows, the worldwide [systems-integration services] market experienced moderate growth of about 4 percent in 2005," the research firm says in a press release outlining the study's findings.

Accenture, meanwhile, grew its revenues 8 percent in 2005, the study says.

Stephanie Torto, IDC program manager, systems-integration business strategies, writes in the report that improved economic conditions have enabled companies to once again spend dollars on systems integration services as they place a higher focus on service-oriented architecture, infrastructure improvements and application services.

Accenture has staked a significant investment in SOA services, helping buoy its business and outpace IBM, Torto says. Accenture announced in July that it planned to invest US$450 million in SOA services over the next three years. As part of that investment, Accenture is setting up a new Technology Lab for SOA Innovation that is designed to help clients make a smooth transition into an SOA environment.