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According to Procorre, an international professional services consultancy, the number of contractors in IT is growing at one of the fastest rates for any sector.
Procorre says that the increase is being driven by rapidly growing business investment in IT, which is underpinned by several fundamental factors including:
- Businesses unlocking budgets for IT investment after a considerable period when cost-cutting by businesses meant IT projects were viewed as a low priority. As the economy improves, businesses are now bringing in IT contractors to deliver upgrades to their existing systems that will improve efficiency, productivity and customer service;
- The explosion of the ‘app economy’, estimated to be worth £4 billion to the UK economy this year but expected by some to rise to £31 billion by 2025, attracting entrepreneurs and venture capital investment
- The growth of mobile commerce (transactions via mobile devices) means that businesses are investing in their web presence and e-commerce system to make them compatible with mobile devices
- Businesses are investing in cloud computing for data storage and software to offer their employees greater flexibility and boost the productivity of a business.
Sophie Sarratt, Relationship Manager at Procorre, said: “It is estimated that investment in IT will be one of the fastest growing forms of capital investments for businesses which is a big turnaround after IT budgets were frozen for so long.”
With more upcoming projects requiring their expertise, IT specialists are in a strong position to pick and choose which projects they work on.
Sophie Sarratt said: “IT departments suffered from comprehensive cuts during the financial crisis as businesses struggled to manage costs. Many businesses will not have upgraded their IT infrastructure which is now outdated and in desperate need of an overhaul to bring it up to scratch.
“Continued failure to address this may end up hitting a business’ productivity and eventually profits. Businesses will require IT specialists for the project management of the upgrade as well as contractors with a high level of technical skill to help build the project.
“As Silicon Roundabout continues to attract global investment, there will be further opportunities in the technology sector requiring the expertise offered by IT contractors. Their highly-prized skills are in short supply so IT specialists are able to make the most of the high demand for their talents and maximise their earnings.”
The flexibility afforded by contractors benefits the specialised short term projects and subsequently, the end clients, bring in expertise while not adding to the head-count or permanent pay-roll.
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Susie Hughes © Shout99 2014
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