Digital services continued to dominate outsourcing activity, driven by cloud-based deals
The global sourcing industry posted healthy numbers for Q3 2018, marked by notable increases in outsourcing demand, according to Everest Group. The total contract value of outsourcing transactions rose 11 percent from Q2 to Q3.
Digital services continued to dominate the outsourcing activity, driven by cloud-based deals. Among GIC setups, the share of digital services as compared to traditional services increased from 44 percent in Q2 to 56 percent in Q3. Likewise, a focus on digital continued to dominate both service providers’ acquisitions (73 percent) and partnerships (84 percent) landscape. Both enterprises and service providers are increasingly leveraging disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to build more a strategic digital agenda, drive innovation and focus on value-added services.
Everest Group discusses these and other third-quarter developments in the sourcing industry in its recently released Market Vista™: Q4 2018 report. The quarterly report highlights the trends in the fast-evolving global sourcing market, exploring the key developments across outsourcing transactions and Global In-house Centers (GICs), as well as location risks and opportunities, and service provider developments.
“The global services industry has enjoyed three consecutive quarters of growth in 2018,” said Salil Dani, vice president at Everest Group. “In Q3, transaction activity rose, and the volume of new contracts increased significantly. Although Q3 did see a decline in GIC market activity in comparison to Q2, we continue to expect healthy growth of the overall global services market through the remainder of the year.”
Additional highlights from the Market Vista: Q4 2018 report:
- North America reported a significant increase in transaction activity, especially in the retail and consumer packaged goods segment and the technology and communication vertical.
- GIC activity continues to be driven by existing adopters, with focus on establishing R&D centers for next-generation technologies.
- While there was a decline in activity for Europe, emerging locations such as Bulgaria and Czech Republic witnessed an increase in activity given high-skilled IT talent, favorable business environment, and excellent R&D and digital infrastructure.
***Download a complimentary 16-page abstract of the report findings here.*** (Registration required.)
