Driver behind decision

Cost was also cited as a driver behind companies' decisions to outsource aspects of their IT operations. More than half (52 per cent) of respondents in the Asia Pacific found outsourcing to be an attractive option, given the current financial crisis, while just more than a third of respondents from North and Latin America found outsourcing attractive.

Other factors influencing the decision to outsource include the quality of service and solutions, increased flexibility, manageability, efficiency or projects which require specific skills.

"Owing to our insufficiency in technical strength, we need the help of outsourcing companies, and their resources, to complete some upgrading or optimising tasks," said an Asia Pacific respondent. "To us, outsourcing can save costs, and their technical strengths are higher as they have specific professions in specific fields, hence, their end-products or results are usually better than doing [it] ourselves."

Respondents from Europe and the Middle East registered the lowest interest in outsourcing, with only 30 per cent of respondents looking upon the concept favourably.