Managed services spending to rise in 2009

Companies offering managed services such as web hosting look set to see increased spending by customers this year, new research has suggested.

According to AMI-Partners, managed services revenues for channel partners are expected to increase by 20 per cent in the next 12 months.

Those providing internet services currently see margins of 36 per cent on average, the report revealed.

Furthermore, small and medium-sized business customers are looking more closely at their IT investments due to the economy and are therefore more likely to consider utilising managed services and consultancy offerings to help them reduce costs, AMI-Partners said.

IDC predicted last year that global spending on external services would reach $746 billion by the end of 2008, up 6.8 per cent compared with 2007.

The hosted application management market was expected to grow at the fastest rate compared with other sectors, with a five-year compound annual growth rate of 15.9 per cent.