This IDC study answers the following questions:

• What are IDC's predictions and assumptions relating to market forces affecting the Western European IS outsourcing (ISO) market, and what impact will they have on the market forecasts?
• What are the key recommendations from IDC for maintaining and growing ISO revenues in the coming years?

"The IS outsourcing market's growth rate is less impacted by the fallout from the credit crunch and the challenging economic situation. However, growth across the forecast period will continue to slow because of continued price deflation, fierce competition, the emergence of low-cost disruptive forms of service delivery and the growing saturation in the large enterprise segment," says Jennifer Thomson, research manager, IDC European Services. She continues, "Vendors should position IS outsourcing services to take advantage of the downturn and center discussions with clients around how to drive down costs and reduce capital expenditure, in parallel to bringing value to the business. This that vendors should market IS outsourcing as a "low-cost" service, highlight the message of sustainable operational excellence using a combination of new technologies, emphasize a shorter ROI window, and push post-M&A integration services."