Business IT support professionals should purchase IT equipment that will last over the long-term, according to one industry expert.

Purchasing equipment that is "designed to last" will benefit businesses in the long-run, claims Caroline Laitner, senior consultant at environmental organisation Waste Watch.

The European Union introduced the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEE Directive) in 2003, but its introduction into the UK was delayed until January 2007.

Included in the directive are proposals to minimise the impact of electrical goods on the environment by reducing the amount of electrical waste going to landfill.

However, Ms Laitner believes that businesses should do as much as possible to prevent parts of the computer network from needing to be disposed of in the first place.

She said: "I think people should be encouraged to buy electrical equipment that lasts properly.

"The last thing you should have to do is give something to be recycled, if you're buying things that are more robust and designed to last or be fixed."

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