The total
value of deals made in the global outsourcing market rose by around
37% last year, driven primarily by business process a growing
number of mid-sized contracts, according to new
research.
The research by
analyst Datamonitor and outsourcing advisory firm Everest Group
found that outsourcing business processes - such as administrative
and finance functions - was the biggest growth area.
The research
echoes other research showing that organisations are signing
outsourcing deals with a handful of suppliers rather than gambling
on one supplier in a “mega” deal.
Datamonitor's "IT
Services Contract Tracker" recorded 1,814 outsourcing deals in
2004, which represented a 4.4% increase over the 1,738 logged in
2003.
But the combined
value of the 2004 deals rose more sharply - by 37% - to £90bn,
compared with £66bn the previous year.
IBM Global
Services was the biggest player in the market with a share of
almost 11%. The overall central government market saw growth of
almost 80%.
The Tracker logs
every deal worth more than £555,000 ($1m) covering outsourcing,
systems integration and consulting.