Industry news

Outsourcing becomes the way, says expert

Fewer companies signed outsourcing "mega deals" last year, one analyst has said.

Gartner revealed the number of billion-pound deals signed in 2007 declined suggesting that firms are using multiple providers for their outsourcing services.

In total, ten mega deals were signed last year compared to 12 the year before.

Kurt Potter, the analyst's research director, said the decline is in part down to the fact outsourcing is "business as usual" for many enterprises now.

"There is more outsourcing activity, but fewer deals on average are reported and this creates the false impression that outsourcing is decreasing," he added.

According to the analyst, the total contact value of the deals last year was $12 billion – the lowest for the past eight years.

Meanwhile, Gartner suggested earlier in the year that an increasing number of European firms opt to outsource some of their IT services, such as hosting, to achieve better business outcomes.