Vast Majority Of U.S. Companies Don't Offshore IT Work

Think everyone is offshoring IT work? Think again. A survey released Wednesday reports that 94% of CIOs say their companies are not currently outsourcing IT work outside the U.S.

A recent phone survey of 1,400 CIOs conducted by staffing firm Robert Half Technology found that only 5% of CIOs said their companies have offshored technology jobs, while 94% said they companies have not. One percent wasn't sure.

Who is outsourcing tech jobs outside the U.S.? Companies with more than 500 employees are most likely to offshore. About 11% of those larger companies offshore, compared with only 5% of companies overall.

Companies that are currently offshoring also tend to be the ones that plan to increase their offshore outsourcing in the near future. Forty-three percent of those companies that do offshore said they plan to ramp that activity up over the next two years. However, 13% of those companies plan to decrease their level of offshore outsourcing.

Why do companies quit offshoring? CIOs at firms that had offshore outsourced in the past -- but discontinued the practice -- said the biggest challenges were in managing the arrangement. Fifty-nine percent said offshore engagement required too much oversight or management.

Unrealized cost savings was the second top disappointment, with 30% of CIOs at companies that discontinued off-shoring citing that reason.

Twenty-three percent weren't happy with the quality of work, and 11% said off-shoring lowered the morale of U.S.-based workers. Six percent cited security concerns.