SOFTWARE group Autonomy yesterday reported record annual revenues of 870million US dollars (about �543m) as blue chip companies around the world continue to adopt its technology.

The Cambridge-based group’s sales grew by 18% compared with 2009, coming in slightly ahead of consensus forecasts of 868m US dollars. Pre-tax profits also came in ahead of expectations at 379m US dollars (about �236m), compared with a consensus figure of 360m US dollars.

Revenues included 94 seven-figure deals, an increase of 42% on 2009, with the growing use of “cloud” computing, involving shared computing resources, adding to strong growth in the company’s established markets.

Autonomy specialises in software for “meaning based computing”, which enables businesses to use their data to derive value and control risk.

Group chief executive Mike Lynch, who lives in Suffolk, said: “Human friendly information and the need to process it has continued to grow rapidly, with applications in customer interaction, legal, regulatory and, as a result of new smart phone technology, mobile leading the way.”

The past year had seen Autonomy become one of the leading players in “cloud” computing, with customers adopting the private cloud model faster than expected, said Dr Lynch.

“Autonomy continues to be chosen to handle the world’s most complex legal cases and regulatory issues, for both corporates and regulators, including the largest lawsuits in the world such as BP and as reported by industry analysts has continued to gain market share in areas such as legal and archiving,” he added.

“Unlike others in the sector, Autonomy’s business thrived during the downturn resulting in Autonomy reporting growth on growth unlike others who are now seeing growth as a return to normal levels.”