Some of the biggest names in IT outsourcing are leaving their clients wondering where the added value is, says a new study. This could change the shape of the market if the trend persists.

Morgan Chambers, a management consultancy that advises clients on business process outsourcing, surveyed 640 companies. Significant numbers said they were unhappy with their experience of the major players. EDS and Sema, two of the biggest, attracted particular criticism.

In general, smaller suppliers were found to be better at working with clients to build effective outsourcing relationships.

Taking Y2K as a test-case, Morgan Chambers also found that many suppliers lagged behind their in-house counterparts in raising concerns about potential problems at senior levels. This was unexpected, given the fact that many IT outsourcers seek to promote their services to board members, typically in pursuit of longer term or wider ranging business relationships.

Surprisingly, the study found that despite some reassessment, few companies intended to change the way they deal with their service providers.

Elliott Chase