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A webhosting firm has highlighted to IT support workers in companies that they must manage domain names more effectively, it has been reported.

Online resource Computing noted comments made by Fasthosts Internet, which emphasised the recent rise in arguments surrounding expensive court cases.

It added that the rate of disputes had gone up by 30 per cent, with many companies struggling to prove their right to own a domain name, especially after many former members of IT support become the legal registrant of the name.

Speaking to the news provider, Steve Holford of Fasthosts said: "While we investigate domain disputes in-house and support businesses as much as we can, the process inevitably takes some time and there is always the possibility that business activity can be disrupted."

Last week, Contractor UK highlighted the role of the .co.uk domain as a galvanising factor in disputes including parties claiming to be their rightful owners.

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.