Industry News: Uncategorized

Offshore outsourcing ‘is growing trend’

Companies are increasingly turning their attention towards offshore outsourced IT, recent research revealed.

Some 50 per cent of chief information officers (CIOs) will be boosting their spend on offshore IT support services this year, compared to just 20 per cent last year, according to the latest Harvey Nash and PA Consulting survey, published by ComputerWeekly.

The majority of CIOs will choose to outsource their IT to India, which has seen its popularity as a managed services destination rise over the past year.

However, Brazil, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Russia and Vietnam are also making their mark on the outsourced IT market now as well, the research showed.

Companies are increasingly under pressure to reduce their costs and they need access to a wider skillbase, which is why outsourced IT is experiencing such a boom, the survey found.

Recent documents obtained by the BBC revealed that the UK government will not be moving as much of its IT services from the public to private sector as was originally planned.

The government reportedly plans to scale back on its outsourcing plans.

Posted by Lara Ward

Source: http://www.codestone.net

Comments: 0

UK PC industry decline is 'worst for decade'

The continued decline of the UK PC market is the worst the industry has experienced for a decade, according to Gartner.

The latest figures from the research firm show UK PC shipments reached 2.7 million units in the first quarter of 2011, a decline of 18% compared with the previous year.

Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner, said: "The last time the UK PC market recorded sustained decline was over four consecutive quarters in 2001 and 2002. However, the market has changed considerably since then and PC suppliers need to understand that even the mature markets are evolving into a new phase."

Apple was the only one of the top five manufacturers to experience growth in shipments. HP and Acer increased market share, while Dell fell to third place after poor performance in the professional and consumer space.

In western Europe, professional market shipments dropped 8% as overall shipments fell 18% to 15 million units.

Meike Escherich, principal analyst at Gartner, said: "PC demand in the professional market held back this quarter as the weak economic environment continues to discourage PC spending."

The UK consumer market declined nearly 25% compared with 2010.

UK PC supplier unit shipment estimates for Q1 2011 in thousands of units (source: Gartner)

Source: http://www.computerweekly.com

Comments: 0