It is simply inevitable that more businesses will choose to embrace IT outsourcing, according to one industry expert.

Anthony Hayes, head of IT supplier management at the Royal Mail, claimed that firms will need to delegate day-to-day IT functions to third-party support providers if they are to remain competitive.

IT departments will still play a key role in formulating technology-based strategy, he suggested, but they will no longer be responsible for hardware maintenance, reports Computer Weekly.

Mr Hayes commented: “When companies outsource they lose responsibility for those functions as they are handing them over to suppliers.

“However, they still maintain accountability. It just becomes a different mindset and way of working.”

Allie Young, vice-president and distinguished analyst at Gartner, recently claimed that strong IT leadership is needed if the potential of IT outsourcing agreements is to be achieved.

She claimed that current market forces are creating new challenges which must be embraced from a strategic perspective.