Increased productivity is boosting IT outsourcing

Businesses are increasingly outsourcing to improve performance — although cutting costs is still the number-one reason for most.

A Gartner survey of 750 IT and outsourcing executives worldwide found 41 percent are primarily outsourcing IT to enhance business outcomes — up from 28 percent in 2005.

The figure is only slightly behind the 47 percent of organisations that identified controlling costs as their main motivation for IT outsourcing.

Allie Young, vice president at Gartner, said the shift towards enhancing business through outsourcing is a sign of a "maturing market".

Buyers of IT outsourcing anticipate increasing its use over the next two years and 88 percent of the organisations currently outsourcing expect moderate to high levels of outsourcing compared to 67 percent in 2007.

About 85 percent of Europe, the Middle East and Africa organisations expect to continue at the same level or increase their outsourcing during the next two years, up from 62 percent in 2007.