Outsourcing companies make up projects purely for the purpose of inflating their fees.

That is one of the conclusions of a recent survey of IT professionals, in which two-thirds of respondents said that outsourcers invented projects with this one profit-driven motive in mind.

Two-fifths also said that costs typically ended up higher than expected, with 16 per cent admitting that IT outsourcing agreements ended up costing significantly more than originally planned.

Nevertheless, the survey, conducted by Lieberman Software, found that almost three-quarters of companies – 71 per cent – outsource a “significant portion” of their IT requirements.

However, only 15 per cent said that they trusted the quality of work performed by their outsourcers more than work conducted by in-house staff. Half of respondents suggested that quality of work was “about the same”.

One-third, though, trusted the quality of work performed by IT outsourcers less than work performed in-house – although half felt there was little difference.

The survey was conducted during Infosecurity Europe 2012 and involved just under 250 IT professionals.

“While on the surface IT outsourcing may seem the perfect solution, the reality is that the grass is not always greener… The fact that trust in the quality of work is being eroded is a worrying trend but, for me, the thought that work is being manufactured to inflate fees is even more of a concern,” said Philip Lieberman, president and CEO of Lieberman Software.

For organisations still keen to outsource, Lieberman advised that buyers should select their partner on a range of criteria. “Not just cost, but resiliency, transparency, data security and ultimately, trust,” said Lieberman.