Outsourcers combine to take on IT services giants

IT services giants will come under pressure from outsourcing alliances as companies team up to beat the big guns.

Research from analyst Datamonitor finds that IT services giants, such as full service providers (FSPs) IBM and Accenture, are to come under pressure from alliances of smaller firms aiming to grab a larger chunk of the global $600bn market.

Datamonitor analyst Ryan Powell said: "When BT and HP announced in May that they would develop shared go-to-market service, including a call centre proposition, they started a trend. Now a number of others are doing the same; CSC and AON and EDS with Siebel.

"Accenture has made a move in India to get down to the front office, call centre, level but I think that they have done a bit of a U-turn. They're really not in the bums-on-seats business - they add their value in other ways."

While the big companies run their own call centres, these are largely small scale centre-of-excellence operations. Large operations are generally contracted out. In the meantime, the call centres are trying to move away from the commodity body-shop business and offer a complex mix of services.

But, while companies are still looking to single-source their IT-based requirements, the new alliances will be able to put together a total package to gain market share. Powell points out that companies are getting better at procurement and are better able to decide what services they need and to write the specifications to suit themselves.

The alliances could face problems, however. Powell said: "It will depend on how they do it, as a joint venture or as joint deliver. They'll still have to work together and discover if they do have a shared culture.

"A number of the services outsourcers offer do not differ dramatically from one firm to another. It will be crucial for the providers to ensure that they differentiate their services in innovative ways in order to win new business."