Contrary to media reports on the rising trend of American companies resorting to outsourcing and moving jobs offshore, a recent report by Forrester Research found that few are actually doing so, says The Industry Standard.

The study showed that 60 per cent of Fortune 1,000 companies are doing nothing at all with offshore outsourcing, and that 25-30 per cent of companies spend only 1-5 per cent of their total IT services budgets overseas, said the Standard, quoting CXO Media.

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Forrester, said CXO Media, identifies these companies as 'bystanders.' The 'experimenters' comprise another 25 per cent to 30 per cent of the Fortune 1,000.

This segment have experience and relationships with offshore vendors, but offshore is not a key element of their overall strategy, as just 1 per cent to 5 per cent of their IT services budget goes toward offshore, it added.

The 'committeds' and 'full exploiters' make up the remaining 10 per cent to 20 per cent of the Fortune 1,000, said CXO Media.

These firms commit anywhere from 10 per cent to 50 per cent of their services budget to offshore ventures. "The level of participation is still relatively limited," CXO Media quoted John McCarthy, group director of research at Forrester, as saying.

"Companies need good IT processes to start."

"Forrester data shows that 46 per cent of companies who are participating in offshore say that a lack of internal project management skills is one of the major reasons that these companies aren't doing more," said CXO Media.

"Moving jobs offshore is a process that takes up to 48 months, said CXO Media, quoting McCarthy.

"More than half (54 per cent) of those who are not using offshore say they are facing resistance from IT staff or business executives," said CXO Media.