Almost three-quarters of IT managers believe that IT security skills are the most important ability their staff can have, a new survey has found.

Computerweekly.com reports that the survey by technology certification body CompTia also found 73 per cent of IT heads think that network security and data-security related skills are the most important aptitudes in the industry.

However, it also found that just 57 per cent of managers believe their IT staff are currently adequately skilled in this area, raising the prospect that some firms might want to outsource their IT operations.

The survey also revealed that 55 per cent of IT heads think that wireless-related skills could overtake security skill in terms of importance in the coming years.

Earlier this week, the website reported that 62 per cent of firms worldwide are set to invest in more IT security in the coming year - with 58 per cent of firms in the UK planning on doing so.

More than half of small businesses (53%) believe that the most important benefit of outsourcing is guaranteed response times for IT support, London based Connect conducted the research in 2007.