Application Outsourcing Clients Are Satisfied, But Want More

As part of an upcoming report, "The Forrester Wave™: North American Applications Outsourcing, Q3 2010," Forrester Research interviewed 54 reference clients about their experiences and preferences, as well as their hopes for future improvements in service delivery. Clients give their suppliers generally high marks when it comes to key aspects of service delivery. However, they also remain hungry for greater value from applications outsourcing services, including higher levels of business value. The ongoing transition to managed outcome services is also altering governance dynamics for many clients. While adding new sources of value, the transition is also necessitating more aggressive styles of oversight. Sourcing and vendor management professionals can contribute to higher satisfaction in applications outsourcing by embracing lessons from leading clients and adapting them to their sourcing and governance strategies.