Trend to watch: Leading service providers are accelerating investments in cybersecurity as enterprise adoption of digital services continues to rise.
Location activity in the global sourcing industry declined significantly in Q3 2016 from the previous quarter, with 404 deals in Q3 compared to 429 in Q2, according to Everest Group, a consulting and research firm focused on strategic IT, business services and sourcing.
Although outsourcing activity across North America increased during the quarter (with share of transactions jumping from 31 to 37 percent), there was a 24 percent decline in the number of deals across Europe (except in the United Kingdom, which reported no change in activity), and the rest of the world experienced a decline as well.
Conversely, Global In-house Center (GIC) setup activity reached 37 setups in Q3 2016, an all-time high, led by new adopters setting up their first delivery centers. GIC activity on a year-to-year basis also witnessed increased traction, reflecting the growing importance of in-house centers to enterprises.
Key Trend to Watch
Everest Group’s Q3 2016 research suggests that a key trend to watch is increasing service provider investments in cybersecurity. Between 2015 and 2016, service providers have ramped up their cybersecurity portfolios via strategic acquisitions, organic growth and collaborative alliances with technology firms.
“As enterprises increasingly adopt digital services, robust cybersecurity programs are becoming ‘must have,’” said H. Karthik, partner at Everest Group. “This, in turn, is forcing service providers to continuously evolve their offerings and move toward end-to-end cybersecurity services.”
“Baseline cybersecurity capabilities of service providers include having personnel that can follow a client’s security initiatives and use basic security tools and products to manage the security of applications and infrastructure. But service providers are moving quickly beyond that to develop more sophisticated services, ranging from designing security architecture to providing insights through security analytics. Leading service providers are pushing the envelope even further, looking to provide even more advanced support, such as pre-emptive threat intelligence, localized managed security services and incident response.”
Market Vista™: Q3 2016 These findings and more are discussed in Everest Group’s recently published report, “Market Vista™: Q3 2016.” This report provides data and analysis highlighting the key trends and developments in the fast-evolving global offshoring and outsourcing market. The research captures the key developments across outsourcing transaction trends, the health of Global In-house Centers (GICs), location risks and opportunities, and service provider developments.
A review of the Market Vista Q3 updates is offered in a webinar: “The Impact of Philippine Political Changes on Global Services, PLUS Market Vista™ Q3 Updates.” This one-hour session hosted by Karthik and Salil Dani, vice president at Everest Group, provides the latest insights on the global services industry, including:
- Major contributors to global services market growth in Q3 2016
- Demand geographies contributing to market growth
- New segments that are driving growth
- Supply geographies best suited to support incremental demand
- The market outlook for the remainder of 2016
In addition, the webinar features commentary and analysis on the impact of recent changes to the political climate in the Philippines.