Survey: Companies getting selective about outsourcing

Outsourcing is out - selective outsourcing is in. That is the conclusion of the latest poll of IT directors in Europe, who cite cost reductions and improved performance as reasons to be selective.

A deal today between Nordea, Scandinavia's largest bank and IBM appears to back up the findings, from Synstar's latest annual Pressure Point Index survey of 700 IT chiefs.

The study found 50 per cent favouring selective outsourcing. Eleven per cent said wholesale outsourcing threatens job security and 33 per cent reckon it compromises intellectual property.

Russell Flower, director of managed services at Synstar, which advises on outsourcing, said: "We'll still see the big multinationals outsourcing fully but three years ago we started asking more pointed questions. Three years ago, IT directors thought outsourcing a threat, then they saw it might be helpful and now they are taking the lead in selecting certain functions as it adds value."

It is common, he added, for companies to outsource infrastructure but keep application development and support in house.

Although there is little difference in outsourcing attitudes across Europe, the research found IT directors in the Netherlands are among those who outsource more to gain access to skillsets. Overall, most do so for cost savings.