Behind the Hype: Offshore Outsourcing Fails to Capture Hearts and Minds in Western Europe

This study presents results from IDC's European Services Survey 2004, focusing on the use of offshore resources. The analysis provides insight into attitudes to and preferences for Western European organizations on the use of these types of resources. The study contains Western European-level information, as well as country analysis for the Benelux, Germany, France, Italy, and the U.K.

"IDC's recent survey covering the use of offshore resources in the IT services market in Western Europe shows that almost 80% of European organizations are not currently considering the use of offshore resources. This result clearly indicates that offshore outsourcing has managed to grab a lot more headlines than share of wallet," said Marianne Kolding, research director, European Services. "Interestingly, our survey also shows that European organizations prefer to gain access to offshore resources through their existing IT service providers. This could spell a tough competitive situation for the Indian offshore service firms, for example, unless they quickly manage to establish their brands and a critical installed base in Western Europe."