Many IT mangers in the UK are spending too much of their time on procurement and administrative duties and not enough on the jobs they are supposed to be doing, a new survey has found.

Research into 250 IT mangers conducted by The IT Index found that respondents spent an average of 19 per cent of their time on procurement and another 21 per cent on other administrative duties.

The study also found that three-quarters of IT managers are now working between 36 and 40 hours per week, with nine per cent of this time spent compiling reports and another 16 per cent in meetings.

"We have found that the majority of IT managers spend an average of one day a week ringing round and conducting manual comparisons," commented Peter Robbins, managing director of Probrand, the company behind theitindex.co.uk.

"It is readily agreed that IT should form an integral part of the modern business strategy, but how are IT managers expected to conduct the necessary activities to leverage IT's importance on the corporate agenda when they are restricted by time expended on procurement and administration?

"A best practice approach to procurement would undoubtedly unlock the true potential of an IT managers role and deliver best value IT at the same time."

More than half of those surveyed also reported that cost was taken as a key factor when buying IT.

In a recent survey of SMEs for Connect, the two most important benefits of outsourcing were 'guaranteed response times' and 'allowing in-house IT staff to concentrate on more strategic issues'