Demand for outsourced IT services will return to growth as the world economy revives in 2010, but requirements will vary wildly between markets, Gartner predicts.
Some 85% of businesses and other large IT and telecom users Gartner quizzed for a new global survey expect their outsourced spending to increase or stay the same when the economy recovers
“[T]he good news for service providers going forward is that the majority of buyers of IT and business process services will increasingly turn to external service providers (ESPs) to support the execution of their IT strategies,” said Allie Young, a Gartner vice president.
While Gartner predicts spending on external service providers will increase 7.13%, the number varied greatly from market to market. India users forecast a 17.4% rise in spending, while Japanese anticipate a 1.5% decline.
The recession had made buyers more cautious about IT spending, Young noted.
As a result of the recession, respondents had reported a rise in contract renegotiations, a greater influence of the CFO in the IT services budget and increased levels of offshore services usage.
“Although there are positive signs of a return to growth, we will remain in a hyper-competitive IT services environment for some time,” Young warned. Buyers faced a wider range of provider options, and cost would continue to be a major focus in their purchase decisions.