Royal Mail has said how it intends to spend up to £1.2 billion on IT over the next three to four years, it has been reported.

The plans include the acquisition of integrated mail processor upgrades from Siemens and high-speed sorting machines from Solystic, according to ComputerWeekly.com.

In addition, it says Royal Mail is supplying up to 25,000 Intermec wireless handheld terminals to its delivery staff, on which customers confirm they have received a package.

Robin Dargue, the group's chief information officer and technical director, told ComputerWeekly.com that the organisation will be able to develop new markets by using a robust IT and logistics infrastructure.

He continued: "Adding IT content to products and services increases their value."

In May, Royal Mail reported an operating profit of £162 million, which was a decrease of 30.4 per cent.

The chief executive Adam Crozier said it represented "a robust financial performance" in a challenging year.

A recent Connect survey found that the two major concerns about outsourcing services like IT support were 'loss of control' (56 per cent) and 'budget over-runs' (43 per cent)