Businesses have begun increasing spending after months of cutbacks, according to PC maker Dell.
The PC maker is among a growing number of technology companies to express cautious optimism about signs of an economic recovery, including Cisco and VMware.
Dell, which reported a 54% decline in third-quarter sales, said businesses of all sizes have begun placing orders, bringing about the first gains in 21 months, according to the Financial Times.
Dell said profits dropped to $337m from $727m for the same period in 2008 as sales shrank to $12.9bn from $15.2bn.
Dell claims sales have begun increasing since the second quarter and rose 1% in the third quarter, with the best sales in China and Brazil.
In China, Dell's largest market after the US, sales grew 20% from the second quarter and 8% compared with the same period in 2008.
Dell also predicts that the October launch of Microsoft's new Windows 7 operating system will help boost sales in the last quarter.
Michael Dell, chief executive, said early demand for Windows 7 reaffirmed his belief that companies that skipped Windows Vista will soon refresh their hardware.
