IT contractors may be required to help UK firms make their IT administration more efficient, as a new study highlights the cost of red tape compliance.

Cloud service provider Keboko commissioned Populus to survey 1,117 people UK-wide, finding that the average worker spends 37 days a year tied to their desk carrying out administrative tasks and paperwork.

Keboko suggests that the cost to UK business of this red tape is in excess of £104 billion each year, with 18 per cent of workers spending more than six hours each week on this issue.

The firm's chief executive officer Charlie Cowan explained: "A lot of the time workers are being held back by a lack of tools to help them get admin tasks done quickly and efficiently.

"Many companies still use outdated, badly-designed software that can only be accessed in the office."

Efficient firms that can help public companies to achieve the same the standard will do well in the aftermath of public spending cuts, small business website ByteStart suggested recently.