This IDC Canada study explores the market for procurement outsourcing services and provides a forecast for 2006-2010. The evolution of the procurement BPO market has been harder to predict from a Canadian business standpoint because the forces of demand have not materialized at the same rate as they have in other geographies.

"Procurement BPO, as a discrete function, has not developed as originally forecast in Canada, and the expected results for the near future are unlikely to change significantly. IDC Canada counsels vendors to concentrate on project-based IT services activities, primarily consulting and integration, to build a critical mass of procurement application installations and then selectively pursue outsourcing opportunities with customers that have a history of outsourcing," says Jim Westcott, research manager, BPO Services, IDC Canada.