Gartner Survey Shows Cost Takeout and IT Availability Remain Top Priorities for U.S. IT Services Buyers
The impact of the recession can be clearly seen in the
form of more-cost-conscious U.S. buyers of services. "Compared to global
averages, buyers in the U.S. show a slightly more-conservative approach
to IT adoption, and a high focus on IT cost as they approach external
services contracting. They also will focus on practical IT operations
("keep the lights on") and will pay less attention to business
innovation in IT as a driver for using IT services," said Allie Young,
vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. "To capitalize on
U.S. IT services opportunities, service providers must have current
insights into buyers' 'pain points,' intentions and their expectations
from service providers."
Between November and December 2009, Gartner surveyed 213
U.S. organizations to better understand how and in what ways
organizations that use and are knowledgeable about the use of externally
provisioned IT services have been affected by economic changes and what
their plans are for using ESPs.
The survey found that 48 percent of U.S. organizations expect to
increase their spending with ESPs in 2010. However, the overall trend
for U.S. buyers of all company sizes is to move toward adopting maturing
technologies with manageable risk. Among all company sizes, the survey
showed a movement away from aggressive adoption, indicating that the
economic crisis has brought more conservatism to technology adoption –
the latest, most-advanced technology carries toomuch risk to deliver.