Which Outsourcing Type Is the Most Common Form of IT Outsourcing?

What is the most commonly outsourced type of IT services? It’s software development. Although the two main types include project outsourcing and specialist outsourcing, we can distinguish between specific services that companies need the most. Which are the most popular, apart from software development? Find out in this article.

Software Development, Software Maintenance, Team Augmentation, and More

There are numerous types of IT outsourcing, but some are much more popular than others. This is a natural occurrence in business-particular services are more beneficial to outsource or simply answer higher market demand. So, which outsourcing is the most common type of IT outsourcing?

Software Development

Applications for clients, internal back- and front-office software, multiple team-specific tools—modern businesses operate on large tech stacks. Stacks that need to be customized for maximum efficiency. Therefore, it is no surprise that software development is the most popular form of outsourcing.

According to a broad comparison based on statistics prepared by Genius, software development isn’t just the most common form of IT outsourcing-it’s the largest outsourcing market across all types of services, with an estimated value of 100 USD billion and a steady CAGR of 5.6%. To add to that, finance and accounting are the only type of non-IT-related outsourced services in the top 10 that can match the speed of growth of the outsourced software development market.

At the same time, we need to underline that this particular type could be further divided. Some companies outsource whole IT projects, while others opt for team extension or even outsource the project only partially to cover the lack of resources or talent gaps in their internal teams. Interestingly enough, according to multiple sources, it’s enterprises that favor outsourcing the most.

Software Maintenance

Software maintenance is the second most commonly outsourced type of IT services, for the same reason that software development is first. Since companies have become increasingly digitized, they need professional support for their existing and new software solutions.

Data Centers

The third on the list is data center outsourcing. This mainly stems from the peak popularity of cloud computing.

Data centers are expensive, and small businesses don’t process enough data nor have enough money to manage them. Therefore, it’s only natural that they opt for such services. At the same time, this doesn’t mean that enterprises don’t outsource their data centers at all-on the contrary, professional data centers often come with robust cybersecurity measures, which attract even the biggest players in the field. Simply said, all kinds of organizations have a valid reason to outsource this particular type of service, but the justification is different based on their size.

IT Infrastructure Management

Similar to data centers, IT infrastructure management services are often outsourced by businesses that utilize cloud-computing-based solutions. Professional companies have access to complex monitoring tools that enable them to:

• evaluate application performance,
• monitor traffic,
• configure the infrastructure according to the newest changes in compliance,
• manage firewalls, IP addresses, and switch ports,
• and more.

This makes such IT outsourcing attractive to both smaller and larger organizations.

Outsourcing Is an Effective Business Tool in the 21^st Century

You know which outsourcing is the most common type of IT outsourcing, as well as the runner-ups. All of this leads us to the conclusion that outsourcing has become a major part of IT-related operations for both small and large businesses. Whether you outsource IT specialists or whole project teams, it’s a way to cut down costs, acquire talent needed for a specific project, or gain access to advanced tools that would be unavailable to you, either because of their price or lack of experience in using them. Looking for a reliable IT outsourcing partner? Contact us at j‑labs!

References:

1. https://joingenius.com/statistics/most-outsourced-services/