Outsourcing is the way forward for CIOs who want to grow their businesses, according to Fujitsu.

A study by the company reveals that outsourcing application building is particularly important as applications make up to 40 to 60 per cent of most IT budgets, but they are rarely outsourced.

Infrastructure and communications outsourcing are far more widespread and many businesses have adopted this approach.

John Hanley, managing director of Fujitsu, said outsourcing can save money, and that applications are “the next big area CIOs are under pressure to address”.

“The application outsourcing market is not as developed or as advanced as infrastructure outsourcing, but huge cost savings can be realised.”

He added that the need for businesses to stay competitive drove them towards outsourcing as the best solution to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Previously, Cery Perle, CEO of Spare Backup, computer security specialist, also expressed his belief that IT outsourcing improves the productivity and profitability of a business.