Worldwide spending for information technology outsourcing (ITO) services is expected to grow 2.1 per cent in 2012 to reach $251.7 billion, said a recent study by Gartner, the IT research and advisory company.
In the ITO market, the fastest growing item, cloud computing services, is expected to grow 48.7 per cent in 2012 to $5 bn, when compared with last year. Cloud computing services are part of the cloud-based infrastructure as a service segment.
"Today, cloud compute services primarily provide automation of basic functions. As next-generation business applications come to market and existing applications are migrated to use automated operations and monitoring, increased value in terms of service consistency, agility and personnel reduction will be delivered," said Gregor Petri, research director at Gartner.
The application outsourcing segment is expected to reach $40.7 bn, an increase of two per cent over 2011. The report, however, said data centre outsourcing (DCO), a mature segment of the ITO market and accounting for 34 per cent of the overall market, would decline by one per cent in 2012. "This market is at a major tipping point, where various data centre processing systems will gradually be replaced by new delivery models through 2016," said the report.
According to Gartner, though there will be some impact due to sovereign debt issues in Europe and slowing exports in China, the ITO market in the emerging Asia/Pacific region is expected to represent the highest growth among all regions.
