Costs for most outsourced IT services look set to fall in 2010 due to the economic downturn as well as the increase in uptake of remote infrastructure management (RIM), research has indicated.

While the economic climate remains uncertain, IT outsourcing prices this year look set to remain on the downward trend which began last year, though at a less dramatic pace, according to the first quarter IT service price analysis from ProBenchmark, the pricing subsidiary of outsourcing consultancy Alsbridge.

However, the prices of some service categories including virtual server support could increase.

"How long the economy will be like this and how long client companies will continue to more aggressively [offshore] infrastructure remains to be seen," says Chris Pattacini, ProBenchmarks's director. "It is clear that RIM will continue to proliferate in the market, continuing that downward price pressure, but not as much as last year."