IDC recently released its worldwide services predictions for 2006 and beyond, which reveals that the key success factor for services players will be to embrace and encourage standardization and componentization among their peers and partners while building integrated solutions. These actions will benefit their clients, and also enhance their own internal ability to quickly adapt to accelerating change.
"The IT industry is more volatile than ever, and the services industry is in constant evolution," said Sophie Mayo, director of IDC's Worldwide Services. "The expectations of Wall Street and customers alike exert constant pressure on services players to perform. Therefore, services players must keep up with, if not exceed, expected changes. The predictions from IDC's worldwide services team offers service providers critical guidance to succeed in the near and long-term future."
The headlines of IDC's top ten predictions for worldwide services in the near and long term future are:
1. As the world becomes flatter, those enterprises that showcase real integration of their processes will be able to effectively operate as truly global companies
2. As the use of open source for mission-critical applications increases, opportunities will develop for consulting and system integration
3. As services players deliver SOA-based composite applications and preintegrated solutions, services will be increasingly packaged as software
4. The SMB segment will get more attention than ever before as vendors figure out how to serve this diverse market
5. The resurgence in signing bonuses and employment perquisites will have a positive impact on services as organizations seek to outsource even more
6. Being part of a partner ecosystem will remain a prerequisite in the current competitive landscape
7. Offshore providers will expand their market presence in the space referred to as "strategic" outsourcing
8. Survival will become the name of the game as customers exert their buying power and vendors compete for ecosystem dominance
9. IT services will stratify as lead customers demand innovation while others hold tight to "good enough" solutions in areas outside the "value chain"
10. Service vendors that lead the introduction of services to address environmental issues will gain a competitive edge
The study, Worldwide Services Group Top 10 Predictions for 2006 and Beyond (IDC #201108), examines IDC’s 2006 services predictions, which highlight the major trends, technologies, and market forces that will shape the services industry in the near and long term future. The study also offers essential guidance for services players.
"The IT industry is more volatile than ever, and the services industry is in constant evolution," said Sophie Mayo, director of IDC's Worldwide Services. "The expectations of Wall Street and customers alike exert constant pressure on services players to perform. Therefore, services players must keep up with, if not exceed, expected changes. The predictions from IDC's worldwide services team offers service providers critical guidance to succeed in the near and long-term future."
The headlines of IDC's top ten predictions for worldwide services in the near and long term future are:
1. As the world becomes flatter, those enterprises that showcase real integration of their processes will be able to effectively operate as truly global companies
2. As the use of open source for mission-critical applications increases, opportunities will develop for consulting and system integration
3. As services players deliver SOA-based composite applications and preintegrated solutions, services will be increasingly packaged as software
4. The SMB segment will get more attention than ever before as vendors figure out how to serve this diverse market
5. The resurgence in signing bonuses and employment perquisites will have a positive impact on services as organizations seek to outsource even more
6. Being part of a partner ecosystem will remain a prerequisite in the current competitive landscape
7. Offshore providers will expand their market presence in the space referred to as "strategic" outsourcing
8. Survival will become the name of the game as customers exert their buying power and vendors compete for ecosystem dominance
9. IT services will stratify as lead customers demand innovation while others hold tight to "good enough" solutions in areas outside the "value chain"
10. Service vendors that lead the introduction of services to address environmental issues will gain a competitive edge
The study, Worldwide Services Group Top 10 Predictions for 2006 and Beyond (IDC #201108), examines IDC’s 2006 services predictions, which highlight the major trends, technologies, and market forces that will shape the services industry in the near and long term future. The study also offers essential guidance for services players.
