IT Outsourcing in the UK 2016

Outsourcing, which means the contracting out of a business process, has proved to be popular with UK companies, and it is very useful when it comes to forming and maintaining an IT workforce. An example of outsourcing would be when a telecommunications firm outsources to a website development agency. That agency, of course, does not have to be in the same country, and this is where nearshoring comes in very handy.

British businesses are in need of skilled professional workers and instead of looking for them from far afield in the global talent pool, in Asia, for example, they are able to find them a lot closer to home.

Nearshoring in Central and Eastern Europe

The UK, as well as Western Europe, have experienced a growing demand for IT Professional Services. This is why there has been an increase in nearshoring to countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), such as Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania and Poland, where there are workers who can provide these services, and at a lower cost. For very many companies in the UK, nearshoring is supplying their needs and it looks set to continue that way. Why look all the way over in Asia when you can find what you are looking for in the much nearer CEE?

Benefits of Nearshoring

Nearshoring has many benefits for British companies and makes good sense in today’s business world. The proximity of the countries in which contracted staff are working means that travel costs are kept down and travel is made easier if any travelling is needed. Closer time zones are another big advantage when it comes to telecommunications.

Nearshoring countries often have financial and legal restrictions that are similar, and this can be an important benefit, for example, with data protection laws.

2016 UK IT Outsourcing Study

Working with the PA Consulting Group, Whitelane Research conducted an examination, known as the 2016 UK IT Outsourcing Study, of as many as 800 outsourcing contracts held by over 250 top IT spending business organisations from the UK. Among the results of the study, was the discovery that 72% of companies studied will continue to outsource at the same rate, which represented a 3% increase from 2015.

The study also found that many companies are outsourcing to reduce costs, and cost reduction was given as a main reason for outsourcing by as many as 60% of business organisations surveyed in the UK IT Outsourcing Study. In the ongoing economic crisis in the world today it is not surprising that companies are looking for ways of saving money.

The Future Looks Bright For Nearshoring in Europe

With the number of British companies that are outsourcing and looking to keep costs down, nearshoring is often the answer. The future of nearshoring in the countries that make up the CEE is looking bright.