Managing IT in-house has no value, say IT leaders

In-house IT infrastructure in UK predicted to drop from 90 per cent to just 23 per cent in 2020

Businesses are set to outsource more of their IT infrastructure over the next decade

The number of companies outsourcing their IT infrastructure will increase globally from 17 per cent today to 64 per cent in 2020, according to a report from hosted IT solutions provider Savvis.

In the UK, in-house IT infrastructures are predicted to drop from 90 per cent today to just 23 per cent in 2020.

This is a reflection of the fact that the majority of IT managers believe there is no competitive advantage to managing IT in-house, according to the report.

Savvis commissioned research firm Vanson Bourne to survey more than 600 IT and business decision makers based in the US, UK and Singapore.

In the US, in-house IT infrastructures are expected to drop from 82 per cent to 49 per cent by 2020 and in Singapore, they will drop from 62 per cent to 38 per cent.

When the respondents were asked what factors prevent their organisations from outsourcing all their IT infrastructure, they cited company culture (43 per cent) and prior investments in IT assets (37 per cent).

"With the rise in acceptance of outsourcing, and the related economies of scale that accompany the managed services model, businesses are finding it difficult to justify owning their own IT infrastructures," said Bryan Doerr, chief technology officer at Savvis.