Software firms flex muscle

China's increasing demand for software outsourcing services will spur the country's industrial transition, analysts said on Tuesday.

China is the world's top software outsourcing provider, and the nation's capacity will be big enough to challenge India - the market leader - in the years ahead, said Qu Lingnian, president of the Beijing Association of Sourcing Service.

Chinese software outsourcing companies received orders worth more than $46.5 billion in 2012, a jump of 43.8 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Commerce.