A growing number of businesses are realising the value of outsourcing IT services such as IT support, it has been claimed.

The long-term return on investment (ROI) of IT outsourcing investment has led to an "embracing" of services by customers, according to executive director of Outsourcery Piers Linney.

He said: "It's all about ROI. You can save money today, or, you can make your business more effective and efficient and that means you're going to make more money."

Mr Linney added that often businesses realise that the ROI over a period of around three years is "far better hosted" than in-house.

His comments follow the publication of Microsoft-commissioned research, which found that more than half of IT professionals believe budget constraints are the biggest barrier to innovation.

Meanwhile, more than half (55 per cent) believe the economy has changed the role of IT.

According to a recent survey by Connect, the two biggest IT headaches for businesses were 'everyday hassles with IT' (37 per cent) and 'security concerns' (32 per cent).