Almost two thirds of firms have used IT outsourcing for some of their operations in past six months, new research claims.

A study conducted by the IT Job Board found that 64 per cent of businesses have used a form of outsourcing for some of the IT tasks, while 34 per cent have outsourced more than half of their IT department.

Furthermore, the survey discovered that 50 per cent of businesses predict they will continue to use IT outsourcing in the next six months.

When polled about the actual roles which have been outsourced, 79 per cent cited software developers, 71 per cent reported programmers and 67 per cent opted for IT support positions.

Teresa Sperti, head of international marketing at the IT Job Board, claimed that IT outsourcing is becoming an increasingly common choice for businesses, as they seek to cut their costs over the recession.

Recently, the EquaTerra 2Q09 Advisor and Business/IT Service Provider Pulse Survey found that businesses are using IT outsourcing to cut costs, not drive their competitive advantage, during the economic downturn.