Stan Lepeak, Managing Director, Global Research
Carl-Henrik Hallstrom, Managing Director, Nordic Region

EquaTerra recently released the results of its 2010 Nordics Service Provider Performance and Satisfaction (SPPS) study. The Nordic ITO study is one of several SPPS studies EquaTerra runs across Europe and globally, covering the Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO) and BPO markets, usage and service provider performance. These studies survey and interview buyer organization executives actively involved in managing and governing major ITO and BPO efforts.

The 2010 Nordic results reflect positively on an ITO market that is both growing and, for the most part, delivering the results buyers are seeking.
•    Eighty-four percent of all Nordic ITO buyers polled indicated they will continue to outsource at the same or higher levels going forward.
•    Seventy-two percent of Nordic ITO buyers, up eight percent compared to last year, indicated that outsourcing contributes significantly or moderately positively to meeting the primary drivers and benefits sought from their efforts.
•    Fifty-five percent of respondents are very satisfied or satisfied with their ITO efforts, and 29 percent are somewhat satisfied. Only six percent are very or somewhat dissatisfied.
•    Eighty-four percent of all Nordic ITO buyers are satisfied with their service providers in terms of general satisfaction, and 91 percent of buyers would recommend their service provider(s) to another outsourcing buyer organization.

The use of offshore outsourcing in the Nordics has significantly increased over the past year. This year’s study found that 52 percent of Nordic ITO buyers are currently making use of offshore outsourcing, up 11 percent compared to last year. The figure below illustrates that the use of offshore outsourcing is increasing across the three major IT process areas covered in the study.

Lower levels of offshore outsourcing for end user management (EUM) services highlights challenges some Nordic buyers face related to language and cultural requirements. Overall, EquaTerra finds offshore buying patterns for EUM continue to evolve. There is greater use of nearshore resources with similar language skills, while certain work, such as support of top tier customers, is still locally maintained. EUM levels are also impacted by ongoing advances in automated and self-service offerings that altogether eliminate the need for call center resources.

Please click here to access a management summary of our 2010 Nordics ITO SPPS study, and contact EquaTerra research if you’re interesting in obtaining access to the complete study results.

Filed under: Information Technology (IT), Market Trends and News, Outsourcing by EquaTerra