Companies are partnering with outsourcing providers in a bid to get their products to market faster and cut costs on innovation.
A study by OutsourcingCenter, a Web site that gives advice on competitive advantage, found CIOs and IT directors are increasingly relying on the global services market for their research and development.
The report said: "This shift in delivery location over the past few years has had a major impact on their approach to innovation."
But fewer than one-quarter of respondents said reduced R&D costs are a top driver for outsourcing. Instead companies realize lower costs from outsourcing are only short-term and they can see greater value in more skills to improve products and accelerate R&D.
In 2004, 67 percent of respondents said lower cost was the largest benefit of offshore development and only 8 percent said shorter time to market objective was the largest benefit of outsourcing.
This year 16 percent of respondents said 24/7 global R&D is one of the most important benefits of outsourcing. Almost one third said the ability to "exploit skilled labour" is the number one benefit of outsourced R&D.
Wipro Technologies commissioned the report.
Dan Ilett of Silicon.com reported from London.
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