IT outsourcing
is a huge category, and technical support is only a small but essential part.
Other forms of IT outsourcing may include transferring entire data centers to
third parties or perhaps limited to third parties that may cover corporate
networks and applications. Technical support is often one of the first service
companies to outsource and sometimes acts as a pilot for outsourced tracking
services. It is also important to note the often blurred difference between
outsourcing, which simply means that third parties provide a service and
outsourcing, which specifically indicates that the service is provided by a
company abroad, presumably with significantly higher labor costs.
At the same
time, the cloud is interfering with traditional definitions of outsourcing.
Desktop as a service (DaaS) and other types of cloud-based virtual desktops
represent new ways for non-traditional players to offer services that overlap
with traditional technical support. Gartner Inc. recognized this in its latest
Magic Quadrant report on the subject. Gartner's influential Magic Quadrants
position providers along the x and y axes to show the strength and relative
breadth of multiplayer.
In its 2013
report, Gartner consolidated the Magic Desk and Help Desk quadrants to reflect
changes in support services. In the text of the quadrant report that Gartner
now calls the "Magic Quadrant for End-User Outsourcing Services, North
America," Gartner analyst David Ackerman and two colleagues highlighted
the primary sources of development for the category.
"An
evolving workforce model, more mobile and more virtual than ever will continue
to challenge traditional work models and IT service delivery approaches,"
said Ackerman and co-authors William Maurer. And Bryan. Britz. “The net impact
will be increased demand for call center features and continued growth in
support for mobile devices. These factors will also drive the growth of cloud
printing and storage services. We see that BYOD is accelerating. .. quickly in
North America over the next three years. "
A modest moment
External
technical support or other IT functions do not necessarily reflect a trend that
every organization must adapt to be competitive. Gartner sees average
single-digit increases in the coming years for the entire IT outsourcing
industry worldwide. From a revenue base of approximately $ 287 billion
worldwide in 2013, Gartner predicts a compound annual growth rate of 6.5%
through 2017.
The use of an
external assistance service also tends to decrease and decrease. The 2014
Computer Economics Outsourcing Statistics report, released this summer, including
a chart that tracked the use of desktop support by organizations with incomes
above $ 50 million and already using some form of IT Outsourcing. The
percentage of use of desktop computer support increased from 30% in 2010 to 24%
in 2011, falling to 39% in 2012 and again to 32% this year.
John Longwell,
vice president of research at Computer Economics Inc., calls the cloud trend.
"I think it shows that some IT organizations that have increased their
internal resources by outsourcing office support due to hiring freezes are
beginning to fill those positions, resulting in a decrease in the number of
companies outsourcing office support. the office, "says Longwell.
"This does not necessarily mean that the market is shrinking because it
does not report how much work is being outsourced. Companies that were on the
sidelines and simply increased internal resources have never done so much outsourcing
to begin with. Organizations that have adopted a strategy, the decision to
outsourcing the most significant part of your IT support, will continue to do
so. "
Some
influential outsourcing consultants suggest that one of the pivotal moments of
outsourcing, particularly about outsourcing services, is coming to an end.
In a widely
cited article in 2012, "The Death of Outsourcing," KPMG's partner,
Cliff Justice, argued that a new IT business model was emerging as some of the
cost savings fell from the system.
