Businesses should do more to maximise the effectiveness of their IT outsourcing contracts, it has been claimed.

Research carried out by Warwick Business School found that 43 per cent of all chief information officers (CIO) and chief financial officers have tried to calculate the financial impact of outsourcing to their bottom line, while 37 per cent admit they do not try to measure the returns and 20 per cent do not even know if they have tried.

The school went on to outline steps for improving outsourcing projects, including establishing the context, strategy and benchmarks for contracts, establishing value over time and making the CIO a strategist in the initiative.

Researcher Dr Julia Kotlarsky commented: “The business world is facing a new challenge: an outsourcing delivery system of high-value activities that demonstrates value over time and across business functions.”

Earlier this week, business intelligence solutions provider Informa Telecoms & Media claimed that IT outsourcing will become more closely associated with network sharing next year.