Small companies should consider using IT outsourcing as it will allow them to concentrate on their business activities, it has been claimed.

Piers Linney, executive director at Outsourcery, claimed that IT services are becoming more popular as they tend to allow firms to realise a better long-term return on investment.

He pointed to the case study of a logistics firm which benefited from using IT outsourcing.

“They were spending too much time worrying about their documents server, their data backup, their email and their Blackberrys and their [customer relationship management],” he said.

Mr Linney explained that by outsourcing these IT projects, the firm was able to focus more on it value-adding business activities.

Other benefits of IT outsourcing which he noted were the ability to make short-term savings and increased efficiency.

Last month, research by software giant Microsoft found that 22 per cent of IT professionals believe their most important priority is providing their firm with a competitive edge.