Business Data Services Study Illustrates IT Services And
Outsourcing Trends In North America And Europe
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 12, 2009--
Responding to a still sluggish economy, IT executives in North America
and Europe are taking a variety of measures to get more value for the
money spent on IT services, according to the latest Enterprise IT
Services Survey by Forrester
Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR). According to the survey results, IT
contractors and consultants will see the deepest decreases in spending,
while systems integration and outsourcing services will have the most
increases. The survey of more than 900 IT executives and technology
decision-makers in Canada, France, Germany, the UK, and the US offers
insights into the decisions large companies are making with regard to
their IT services and outsourcing. The survey is part of Forrester’s Business
Data Services (BDS) series, which provides an extensive data set for B2B
Market Research professionals’ go-to-market strategy assessments.
Unlike during the last recession from 2001 to 2002, when outsourcing and
offshoring experienced growth from firms seeking to reduce internal IT
costs, the picture for IT services is much more mixed in terms of
spending plans. When asked about changes they expect to see in their
organization’s total spending on IT services, 30 percent of executives
surveyed said they plan to increase spending on systems integration and
project work, 26 percent plan increases in applications outsourcing, and
25 percent expect to increase spending on infrastructure outsourcing.
However, 41 percent of executives expect to reduce spending on
contractors, and 34 percent foresee lower spending on IT consulting.
“As the global economic downturn puts pressure on IT services spending,
firms are taking a range of actions to deal with the cuts,” said John
McCarthy, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester. “The
pressure to reduce IT spending is going to continue well into 2010. The
data shows no quick turnaround — it’s going to be a tough year for
services firms as clients increasingly ask them to justify the ROI for
IT projects and provide more value for a lower price.”
A top-line overview of the full survey responses is available in the
report “The
State Of Enterprise IT Services: 2009.” Subscribers to Forrester’s
Business Data Services receive unlimited data support, including custom
segmentation from a dedicated data advisor. Other key highlights of the
survey include:
-
Infrastructure outsourcing priorities. When asked what
infrastructure services their firm is currently outsourcing or plans
to outsource to a third-party company in the next 12 months, survey
respondents placed convergent telecommunication/network management
services and data center management services at the top of the list.
-
Application outsourcing priorities. Managed hosting services
lead the list of application outsourcing priorities, with 44 percent
of respondents currently outsourcing and six percent planning to use
managed hosting services in the next 12 months. In addition, the
outsourcing of packaged applications maintenance and support services
increased from 27 percent in 2008 to 38 percent in 2009, and another
seven percent of respondents are planning to do so in the next 12
months.
-
Systems integration priorities. Integration work installing or
upgrading packaged applications remains a top activity, with 42
percent of respondents saying they already have a project under way or
will hire a consultant for this in the next 12 months. Custom
application design and development follows, with 38 percent of firms
doing a project or hiring a consultant to do so in the next 12 months.
-
IT consulting priorities. Forty-three percent of respondents
have a security assessment project either already under way or one
that will commence in the next year. Infrastructure virtualization and
automation programs follow, with 32 percent of respondents hiring a
consultant in the next 12 months or already having a project under way.
More information about Forrester’s Business Data Services and custom
data analyses for B2B Market Research professionals is available at http://www.forrester.com/Products/MarketResearch/Business.
About Forrester Research
Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) is an independent research
company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking advice to global
leaders in business and technology. Forrester works with professionals
in 20 key roles at major companies providing proprietary research,
customer insight, consulting, events, and peer-to-peer executive
programs. For more than 26 years, Forrester has been making IT,
marketing, and technology industry leaders successful every day. For
more information, visit www.forrester.com.
© 2009, Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Forrester is a
trademark of Forrester Research, Inc.
Source: Forrester Research, Inc.
Forrester Research, Inc.
Tracy Sullivan, + 1 617-613-6023
Senior
Public Relations Specialist
press@forrester.com
