European Telecom Operator Managed Services Deals Survey: H1 2008

Forrester's fifth survey of managed services contracts signed by telecom service providers looks inside 407 European service deals sealed in the first half of 2008. The number of deals was up significantly from the 177 that we tracked in H2 2007, and the total contract value leapt to €7.7 billion, way up from the €2.1 billion reported in the previous half year. The steady trend toward smaller and shorter deals associated with multisourcing continued, but huge deals for AT&T and T-Systems Enterprise Services with Royal Dutch Shell bucked the falling trend on megadeals. The percentage of converged deals — those with both telecom and an IT services component — was down from 27% to 10%. One factor contributing to this decline seems to be a growing trend toward simpler contracts, often with only one service type. Infrastructure and operations (I&O) professionals need to note this trend toward focused surgical contracts for infrastructure out-tasking and managed services. These contracts can be negotiated and implemented quickly and can assist firms trying to improve nimbleness and flexibility.