Educating company employees on the benefits of IT outsourcing is the key to making cost-cutting measures work with minimum disruption, an expert has said.

According to industry professional Alastair Kitching, there is an increasing demand for critical IT systems that is driving businesses towards managed services.

He noted a mood of “extreme caution” when it comes to recruitment, with a recent survey showing only three per cent of UK businesses plan to replace IT staff to fill the skills gap, while 61 per cent said they would invest in outsourcing.

“Businesses are putting IT at the heart of their recovery plans because it can provide better cost savings and efficiency than more staff,” Mr Kitching said. “Analysts predict a clear move towards managed services to make up the IT skills shortfall.”

Gartner recently forecast that worldwide cloud services will grow to around $46 billion (Ј30 billion) this year.