UK Leads the way in having multiple suppliers for IT Outsourcing

A recent report has revealed that UK organisations are the most mature, multi-sourced IT outsourcers in the world, with 44% of all outsourced services split between five suppliers and with only 6% of contracts being single-sourced.  This compares with southern Europe (France, Spain, Portugal and Italy), where 56% of contracts are multi-sourced between two and four service providers.   The US by contrast, tried multi-sourcing but has largely reverted back to a more traditional single supplier model.  Whilst it can be more difficult to manage numerous supplier relationships, there can be political and technological justification for this.  The BBC is due to transfer its outsourcing business from March 2015 after a 10 year licence with single supplier Atos (on a contract worth £2bn). This will change to a “tower model” favoured by public sector organisations for its flexibility and value, through a number of specialist companies. As long as companies’ IT sourcing policies meet their business goals, it will ensure service providers are on their toes to optimise performance for their clients, or risk losing their business.