If there is an industry that has been able to withstand the most complex and disruptive global events, it’s the IT. This market continues to grow, even in the face of political, economic and energy crises, pandemics and climate change, among other challenges.

 

However, by having to constantly adapt to new challenges, the IT market continues to reinvent its practices. Outsourcing continues to be one of the most valuable, as it allows companies to reduce risks and costs, while maintaining or increasing their productivity.

 

In 2024, these are the IT outsourcing trends to keep an eye on.

 

 

1. MANAGED SERVICES ON THE RISE

Outsourcing IT infrastructure and services is benefitting both small, large, new, and experienced organisations. By relying on a third-party provider to monitor and manage networks, systems, databases, applications, cybersecurity, among other things, companies can reduce costs and risks, while improving efficiency and achieving growth. This means that the more technical parts of the job are handled by IT experts, while the company can focus mainly on business operations.


One of the areas where managed services are growing strong is, undoubtedly, cybersecurity. Managed SOC, specifically, is growing strong in 2024, focusing on providing a complete security incident and response service, totally adjusted to each company’s needs and goals.

 

 

2. STRONGER FOCUS ON CYBERSECURITY

The numbers are overwhelming: since the COVID-19 pandemic, cybercrime has increased by 600%; there are over 2200 cyberattacks per day, which translates into an attack every 39 seconds; also, cybercrime is predicted to cost companies around the world an estimated $10.5 trillion a year by 2025.


Therefore, it’s natural that cybersecurity is a growing concern for companies, also because a great part of their employees is working from home (and using their personal network connections), which makes them more vulnerable to cybercriminals.


As such, securing network infrastructure and data has become an IT top priority for companies – 68% of organisations expect to increase their spending on cybersecurity in 2024, compared with 2023.


Outsourcing this type of service has been gaining ground, as it allows companies to get 24/7 protection (which, with an in-house team, would be more difficult), a faster response to potential incidents, while saving in the long term (since the outsourcing cybersecurity team can be adjusted as needed).

Read more about Alter Solutions cybersecurity services like Cybersecurity Management, Architecture & Solution Integration, Audit & Pentesting, and Cyberdefence.

 

 

3. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) AND MACHINE LEARNING (ML) STANDING STRONG

Both were already trending topics in 2023 and continue to be so in 2024. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are here to stay and are not only changing the way we live, but also redefining the way we work.


When it comes to IT outsourcing, AI has been particularly standing out, as it provides greater work efficiency through the automation of routine tasks, cost reduction, greater security and control over processes. It has been a catalyst in areas such as data analytics, software development, and customer service.


The numbers don’t lie: the global AI and ML outsourcing market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 37.3% between 2023 and 2030, with around 97 million people projected to work in the industry by 2025.

 

 

4. THE RISE OF CLOUD TECHNOLOGY

Cloud-based technology has been evolving at an unprecedented pace, being now a key element of any company’s IT infrastructure. In fact, as per Gartner’s latest report, global investments in Cloud services are projected to grow by 20.4% in 2024, reaching a total of $678.8 billion.


Standing out as a major outsourcing Cloud service is Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), which allows companies to let go of the burden of maintaining a physical infrastructure, while reducing costs and increasing efficiency and flexibility.


In 2024, going for multi-cloud solutions is also a trend among companies, meaning they are choosing to store their data on several cloud providers, to reduce the risk of data loss.

Read more about Cloud, Edge and Quantum Computing in our IT Trends 2024 eBook, produced in partnership with act digital.

 

 

5. SMARTSHORING BRINGING THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS

There’s a new “shoring” in town. Smartshoring allows companies to combine different working models throughout the business process, according to what’s more beneficial at a given moment.


It’s a growing trend in 2024 because it combines the strengths of Offshoring and Nearshoring – the latter, which Alter Solutions provides for all kinds of IT challenges, remains one of the most popular business models to this day.


Smartshoring means organisations can make their projects come true at lower costs, with greater geographical flexibility, and without compromising the final product’s quality.

 

 

6. CUSTOMER-CENTRIC APPROACH

One of the prime reasons why companies have been outsourcing some of their needs – after looking to reduce development costs, of course – is to guarantee improved customer experience. This trend is here to stay in 2024.


Usually, businesses look to develop new and innovative customer service solutions that help them stand out from the competition and increase the overall customer satisfaction. A few examples of solutions like these could be AI chatbots and virtual assistants.


Outsourcing development projects like these has become a popular choice, because it is easier to access specialised developers and project managers, among other experts, already used to working with an Agile approach.

 

 

7. DATA PRIVACY AND COMPLIANCE AS MAJOR CONCERNS

Strict data protection legislations, like GDPR and NIS 2 in Europe, are shaping the way businesses operate and redefining their security posture. Outsourcing this type of service means organisations can access specialised and experienced allies in data privacy and compliance, thus avoiding future legal, financial and reputational damages.
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