Outsourcing used to 'avoid risks'

Some two thirds of IT firms decide to outsource a proportion of their network management in order to avoid the risks associated with internal management, according to new research.

Forrester Research reports that 60 per cent of companies choose to outsource major parts of network management, including storage, security, databases and applications for example.

It was also found that the appeal of outsourcing is strongest in key areas such as remote monitoring and management, internet protocol telephony (VoIP), telecoms management and managed mobility, according to David Wills of Gartner.

"The advantage of a hosted platform is that the equipment resides in a carrier-class environment, with high availability, back-up power, network redundancy and physical security," Mr Wills told Computer Weekly.

On this note contractors are proving attractive because they allow firms to avoid the risks of internal network management.

Research from BT shows that UK firms are more satisfied with outsourced managed network services than they were before investing in this area, reports Public Technology.