Offshore Outsourcing Growth

ZDNet reports research firm Gartner published a study Monday saying "offshore outsourcing isn't as widespread as people think," with lower-cost locales accounting for less than 3 percent of money spent on global information technology services this year.

Gartner projects that figure to grow but remain a relatively small fraction of total spending. By 2008, spending on IT services delivered through "global sourcing" will reach about 7 percent of a $728 billion total market--or roughly $50 billion.

A more bullish view came Thursday from NeoIT, a consulting firm that advises clients about offshore projects. NeoIT "foresees a big year for offshore outsourcing growth in 2005" and predicts that more than "80 percent of the Global 2,000 will have an offshore presence by the end of the year."