Resilient Applications Outsourcing Demand Will Constrain Buyers' Supplier Options

Despite the prospect of economic uncertainty, demand for applications outsourcing services is robust according to the results of Forrester's Enterprise IT Services Survey, North America And Europe, Q2 2008. Survey findings show that a considerable percentage of enterprises already use third-party suppliers for certain service categories such as custom applications development. Despite this established pattern, the percentage of survey respondents either considering or actively planning to outsource exceeds those who are already outsourcing in every major category of service. Although financial services demand looks potentially weak in the short term, the implication is that suppliers will have a host of opportunities in the wider market for apps services. Sourcing and vendor management professionals will note that not all suppliers will benefit from the strong demand equally, placing renewed importance on effective supplier selection.