Outsourcing as important to the UK economy as finance

At eight per cent of overall GDP, the outsourcing sector brings in as much for the UK economy as the financial sector, according to a report released today by Oxford Economics Research.

IT- and data-related services account for €41bn (£36bn) of a total turnover of €207bn for this sector, according to the report.

The report categorised outsourcing as governed by an "ongoing or time-specific agreement involving a degree of delegation or management responsibility".

The outsourcing sector as a whole employs 3.1 million individuals, equivalent to 10 per cent of all UK workforce jobs.

However, the number of jobs in outsourced IT is a fraction of this at 339,000 compared with manufacturing at 2.6 million or public administration at 1.6 million.

The report states that the combined turnover of computer programming, consultancy and related activities as well as data processing, hosting and web portals was £41.7bn. Within that some £6.7bn was made up of services to the public sector with £35bn being services provided to the private sector.

Bindi Bhullar, director of global IT services provider HCL Technologies, commented on the research:

"Successful outsourcing projects have previously been seen as the elephant in the room. There has long been a reluctance to discuss the benefits outsourcing brings to the UK economy. It is great to see this credible research highlighting the significance of IT and IT-related BPO.

"The research comes as welcome news to the outsourcing industry, which has been in the spotlight recently as a result of the government's drive to cut costs and reshape public services," he added.