Research by market analyst Datamonitor and outsourcing advisory firm Everest Group reveals the global outsourcing sector is increasingly being driven by mid-size contracts - particularly in the fast-growing business process outsourcing space.
Datamonitor's "IT Services Contract Tracker," tracked 1,814 outsourcing deals in 2004, a 4.4% increase over the 1,738 logged in 2003. The combined value of the 2004 deals rose more sharply by 37% to $163 billion compared to $118.9 billion the previous year.
Datamonitor's "IT Services Contract Tracker," is an up-to-date guide for contracts within the $600bn global IT services market. The service tracks every new outsourcing, systems integration and consulting deal with a value greater than $1million signed by major IT services vendors, and contains information on more than 6,500 contracts signed during the last five years.
According to Datamonitor, the value of outsourcing deals in 2004 grew 37%, reflecting a steady recovery in the IT services market. IBM Global Services captured the largest market share (10.7%), with deals signed in the central government sector growing 78% during 2004.
There were fewer mega billion-dollar deals in 2004 than in 2003 (25 versus 29).