The upsurge in IT outsourcing is unlikely to slacken, according to a new study by research company Infratest Burke InCom.
The study, which was commissioned by Integris, the managed services division of Bull, questioned 67 of the UK's leading financial services companies, including many insurers.
Nearly half those surveyed have outsourcing contracts that will last for five years or more. The report also says that 49% have committed 25% of their annual IT spend to outsourcing. However, one of the most significant claims made in the report is that 56% of companies believed that the return on investment had fallen short of expectations.
Further findings include:
n 77% of respondents said profits were increasing or remaining the same.
n 82% claim to be achieving tangible business benefits as a direct result of outsourcing
n 73% of companies expressed doubts about their outsourcing partners' willingness to share risks.
n Only 47% of companies believed their suppliers were adaptable.
Bob Guppy, director of outsourcing at Integris, said: "Since we last took the temperature in May last year, the outsourcing market has matured considerably.
"Demand has increased and customers have become much more refined in their approach towards their IT strategies."
The report also found there were particular business areas where companies were happier to outsource.
Desktop/client server systems (e.g. PCs, PC servers) are the most commonly outsourced (47%). Next most commonly outsourced are systems operations such as data centre mainframes (39%) and applications management.
