Revenue for IT outsourcing (ITO) rose 7.8% globally in 2011, to a total of US$246.6 billion, according to Gartner. In 2010, revenues reached just US$228.7 billion.

IBM maintained its position in 2011 as the top earning ITO, with revenues of $26.9 billion, matching the global growth rates at 7.8%.

HP came in at number two, with Fujitsu, CSC and Accenture filling out the top five earners.

But while revenues have grown, IT outsourcing providers must watch the market closely.

“ITO providers that are heavily focused on infrastructure outsourcing risk revenue cannibalisation and muted growth opportunities as more of their clients move to industrialised, cloud-based services,” said Bryan Britz, Research Director at Gartner.

“As clients are likely to pursue hybrid cloud strategies, providers need to deliver some asset-light and some asset-heavy offerings. This will result in varying growth trajectories for ITO providers over the next several years.”