IT contractors specialising in business intelligence (BI) could benefit from the growing uptake of this area, an analyst has suggested.

Gartner has stated that half of companies expect for their budgets in these areas to rise during the next 12 months.

It asserted that it is crucial that investments are deployed which extend the usefulness of BI in companies.

"[In the new business environment], the ability to detect, anticipate and act quickly and effectively on 'business patterns' is critical to building competitive advantage," it said.

The analyst predicted that organisations will continue to focus on both cost and efficiency, which could involve hiring IT contractors.

Among the priorities will be strong performance management and the importance of the correct application of business insights.

IT contractors looking for work in fields of this type could benefit by looking for work through specialist recruiters, Recruitment and Employment Confederation external relations advisor Phillip Curry has claimed.