Outsourcing will account for 53 per cent of the total worldwide IT services market in 2004, according to technology research and consultancy firm Gartner.

"Outsourcing continues to be the main source of growth in IT services and has become a mainstream business practice for companies for all sizes. By 2007 outsourcing will make up for 56 per cent of the IT services market," a Gartner statement said.

Outsourcing and India: Complete Coverage

It said the IT services market was currently in the middle of an unprecedented change as companies rush to deploy Global Delivery Models, primarily in an attempt to reduce costs.

"The industry is transitioning to global sourcing. Only the largest global corporations will rely on captive centres to bring a global labour pool. Most enterprises will do so via outsourcing, tapping into the GDM of an outsider.

"Outsourcing is becoming a dominant way that enterprises buy IT services," Allie Young, research vice-president for Gartner's sourcing group, was quoted as saying.

There is a hightened attention on business processes, as business process outsourcing becomes the new growth area for adding greater value to outsourcing.