Clients Plan To Continue Outsourcing Despite Cost Savings Concerns

Clients have substantial plans to outsource various IT activities, suggesting that expectations for outsourcing industry growth are well founded, according to findings from Forrester's Enterprise IT Services Survey, North America And Europe, Q2 2007. Although relatively few clients say the quality of work that IT services and outsourcing partners perform is poor, they nevertheless have concerns about their providers — including the cost effectiveness of outsourcing. While many clients say they plan on expanding their outsourcing activities, they also plan to bring elements of outsourcing portfolios back in-house, suggesting that clients no longer view outsourcing as a one-time-only event but as part of a continuum with significant fluidity in between phases. Reduced enthusiasm for full-scope outsourcing suggests a more selective outsourcing approach is taking hold, but clients still want to reduce the number of services suppliers with which they engage.