The use of contract programmers on company- development projects is soaring, according to new research from Evans Data Corp.

More than 70% of companies surveyed are outsourcing some software-development work, up from 40% in May 2001, the software-development research firm says. It's likely that economic conditions are playing into the trend, as companies look to get more work without the added expense and administration of full-time employees.

About 80% of those companies with at least 10,000 employees are outsourcing some development. That figure is 66% for companies that have 1,000 to 10,000 people.

Evans Data also said its research found a large number of new projects being started, but that most companies are turning to outsourcing as an alternative to full-time programmers, rather than using contractors to supply additional expertise.

The November 2002 survey conducted by Evans Data also found 60% of companies are using Linux on some servers, compared with just 43% six months earlier.

While that's encouraging for Linux proponents, it isn't all good news: Linux deployment is being confined to less than one in four of a company's systems, while only 3% of companies say they use Linux on more than half their servers.