European consultancy and services firm Atos Origin’s positive second quarter reflects increased demand for outsourced services in an uncertain economy.

Atos appears to have avoided any significant fallout from the global credit crunch, partly by focusing on government, healthcare and transport contracts. It is also the main IT supplier to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

The ability to preach the value of cost-saving outsourcing services is another reason for its success, according to Phil Codling, principal analyst at research firm Ovum.

“Atos Origin’s results provide yet more evidence that much of IT services is weathering the economic storm rather well,” he said in a research note. “Its growth in managed operations and systems integration confirms that outsourcing in Europe is relatively buoyant.”

Other global consulting, systems integration and outsourcing companies have reported similar gains recently.

June saw rival Accenture report its highest ever quarterly outsourcing and consulting revenue, with new bookings up 20 per cent to $6.1bn (£3.1bn) compared with the same period in the previous year.

CSC’s revenue for the fourth quarter ending 28 March was equally healthy, up 11 per cent year on year, with record annual revenue of $16.5bn (£8.3bn) up by the same margin.

Unisys, which has many customers in the financial services industry, did not fare as well, reporting flat revenues and a net loss of $14m (£7.1m) for its last financial quarter. However, services orders were up three per cent year on year.