IT outsourcing 'will surpass $251bn this year'

IT research and advisory firm Gartner has predicted that spending on outsourcing in company computing requirements will continue to grow throughout the year.

It was specified that the outgoings are on track to surpass $251.7 billion (£161 billion), which would be a 2.1 per cent increase on the $246.6 billion recorded for 2011.

Kevin Wharram, IT security consultant, recently suggested that the increasing uptake of the cloud could mean that more firms look to outsource work to an external provider.

Research director at Gartner Gregor Petri said cloud services are now able to provide the automation of many basic functions.

He added that next-generation business applications will increasingly come to this market and existing ones will start to be migrated.

"Continued privacy and compliance concerns may however negatively impact growth in some regions, especially if providers are slow in bringing localized solutions to market," the expert remarked.