The 100 biggest outsourcing deals in western Europe
reached a total value of $40.5bn (£22.2bn) last year, figures from
industry analyst IDC have revealed.
Information systems and network and desktop outsourcing (NDOS)
accounted for a huge chunk of the total, with a combined value of
$32.7bn. Business process outsourcing was growing across western
Europe, but outside the UK the net value of the market was very
small, the research found.
The top-100-deals total is down on the 2004 figure of $42.1bn,
but the largest deals increased in value, with nine “megadeals”
signed for a combined sum of $20.5bn in 2005 – more than half the
total figure.
Jennifer Thomson, research manager for IDC European services,
said the figures confirmed the emergence of large-scale
multi-sourcing, “with five out of nine megadeals awarded by two
government agencies”.
The government, manufacturing and financial services sectors
accounted for nearly 90% of the top 100 deals.
The figures revealed that while IBM signed 14 deals last year –
more than any other outsourcing firm – the total value of the
contracts was less than those won by BT Global Services and
EDS.