This IDC Study analyzes customer satisfaction research in the area of IT outsourcing and describes an alternative method that can be used by outsourcing service providers to more appropriately understand the factors that contribute to their customers' satisfaction with their service offerings. The alternative research method provides a predictive model that outsourcers can use to make wiser investment decisions by focusing on the factors that most contribute to improving overall customer satisfaction. IDC also provides guidance to the reader regarding their customer satisfaction research initiatives.

"IDC believes the largest drawback to methods assessing customer satisfaction with outsourcing today is that vendors cannot make intelligent decisions to improve the level of satisfaction in their clientele," says Jason Bremner, director, Outsourcing Services, IDC Canada. "Outsourcing providers need a method to describe not only the level of satisfaction among their customers but also a means of predicting where to focus in order to increase it."