Many Organizations Are Creating "Megascope" Outsourcing Deals Instead of Megadeals in 2007

According to Gartner, organizations generally will not award large IT outsourcing contracts to one provider in 2007, but rather will split the work up among several providers. “We expect large organizations to source the largest parts of their megascope engagements to large providers that have a similar global presence,” said Lorrie Scardino, research vice president at Gartner. “However, these large organizations will consider and select smaller or regional providers for focused parts of their megascope deals to engage with focused specialists, expand the scope of services that are globally delivered or introduce a new provider into the mix.”

In 2006, many organizations made several awards by breaking up the scope of work into selective segments. Although not all of these selective awards were megascope candidates, the total contract value awarded by a single client to multiple providers is a significant indication of the specific organization’s adoption or continuation of outsourcing as a pillar of business strategy, as well as the market’s continued growth.

”Megadeals are still popular for large organizations, and megascope awards are gaining in popularity. However, such large deals are still only suitable for organizations that have mature sourcing processes and the experience to manage multiple providers,” said Kurt Potter, research director at Gartner. “Fewer than one-third of organizations have a formal sourcing strategy, and many of them are using multiple providers and advanced sourcing practices.”

Additional information on what happened in outsourcing in 2006 and what Gartner expects in 2007 is available in the Gartner report “Gartner on Outsourcing, 2006.” The report is available on Gartner’s Web site at www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?ref="g_search&id=499615&subref=simplesearch."

Gartner analysts created a new management discipline called “multisourcing” which is designed to obtain the optimal mix of internal and external sources and manage them to consistently achieve business objectives and sustain competitive advantage. Gartner analysts will further discuss multisourcing and outsourcing trends at the Gartner Outsourcing Summit, taking place March 19-21 in Dallas. The Gartner Outsourcing Summit is the only event that provides a comprehensive view of the entire outsourcing market – infrastructure, application and business process outsourcing, global delivery and the use of offshore providers, as well as issues and trends about new delivery models, such as software as a service. The Summit provides unbiased, road-tested advice and best practices necessary for setting outsourcing strategies and objectives, evaluating and selecting the right service providers and managing relationships with them. Many of the 50-plus content sessions will feature case studies and panel discussions presented by end users and industry professionals. For complete event details please visit the Gartner Outsourcing Summit Web sitewww.gartner.com/us/outsourcing.