IT outsourcing could see a slowdown in the first half of 2009, but will pick up again in the latter part of the year, according to an expert.

Vinita Gupta, writing for Express Computer, says that chief information officers will take longer to make decisions about IT outsourcing as they will be under pressure to demonstrate their investments have value for the business.

“We should be able to see the impact of these stimulus package showing positive results from the third quarter of 2009 onwards and companies slowly increasing their discretionary spend,” Hari Murphy, chief sales and marketing officer at iGate, tells the news provider.

A dramatic reduction in attrition brought on my the recession will help the industry though, as IT firms will be able to improve productivity, leading to increased customer satisfaction.

Last week, global advisory and consulting firm Ovum found that a number of large IT outsourcing enterprises experienced growth in 2008.