Buyers Look for More Options in IT Professional Services, According to ITSMA Brand Tracking Study.LEXINGTON, Mass. -- IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) widens lead in brand strength; tech firms including Cisco, Dell, HP, Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP gain credibility as alternatives to traditional consulting leaders; offshore competition inches forward Businesses are investing more in IT professional services (job) professional services - A department of a supplier providing consultancy and programming manpower for the supplier's products. to support growth but looking beyond the traditional industry leaders for new partners and approaches, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. ITSMA's new study of buyer preferences and perceptions of leading IT professional services and solutions providers. The study, based on interviews with 400 U.S.-based executives from large companies in eight industries, revealed that while IBM Global Services IBM Global Services is the world's largest business and technology services provider. It is the fastest growing part of IBM, with over 190,000 professionals serving customers in more than 160 countries. has widened its brand awareness lead, continued fragmentation and a search for options provides plenty of opportunity for consulting and technology firms to emerge as services leaders in key market segments. "The market is clearly in transition," according to study author Lori Weiner, senior director of research at ITSMA ITSMA Information Technology Services Marketing Association ITSMA Interactive Technology, Software and Media Association (India) ITSMA Inter-City Transportation Systems Management Authority ITSMA It Service Marketing Association . "Buyers are looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. options and they're willing to consider any number of approaches to getting the job done. The tech firms have come on strong but there is still tremendous opportunity for both the established consulting firms and smaller specialist companies to grow and prosper." IBM continues to benefit most from the ongoing transformation of the IT consulting industry, named by almost one-quarter of buyers surveyed as the one firm they would most likely call for assistance. The continuing redefinition and redirection of the traditional IT consulting industry leaders, such as Accenture, EDS (Electronic Data Systems, Plano, TX, www.eds.com) Founded in 1962 by H. Ross Perot (independent candidate for the President of the U.S. in 1992), EDS is the largest outsourcing and data processing services organization in the country. , and Deloitte, have also created an important opening for hardware and software firms to gain ground as credible providers of IT professional services in their own right. Firms including Dell, Cisco Systems “Cisco” redirects here. For other uses, see Cisco (disambiguation). Cisco System,Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO, HKSE: 4333 ) is an American multinational corporation with 54,000 employees and annual revenue of US $28.48 billion as of 2006. , Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP demonstrated surprising strength in ITSMA's study, scoring extremely well in ratings of familiarity and favorability. Further, the strength of smaller, niche firms is reflected in the migration of talent from large players to more specialized firms, as well as buyers' emphasis on relationships and risk mitigation above portfolio and scope. Offshore services providers are advancing more slowly, however. Notwithstanding the recent hype, most large American companies remain cautious about tapping offshore resources for higher-end IT services such as consulting, systems integration, or business process outsourcing Business process outsourcing (BPO) is the contracting of a specific business task, such as payroll, to a third-party service provider. Usually, BPO is implemented as a cost-saving measure for tasks that a company requires but does not depend upon to maintain its position in . Early experiences have had mixed results, according to the ITSMA study, and even businesses looking to take advantage of offshore resources prefer to work with U.S.-based providers that have offshore capabilities rather than directly with offshore-based firms. About the Study Competing for Position in Professional Services and Solutions: 2004 Brand Tracking Study provides a detailed analysis of how business buyers of IT professional services and solutions assess leading providers and the market as a whole. The report focuses on IT consulting, planning, systems integration, outsourcing, and other technology-related professional services. Companies covered in detail in the study include: Accenture, ACS (Asynchronous Communications Server) See network access server. , Answerthink, BearingPoint, Deloitte Consulting (now Deloitte), Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (now Capgemini), Cisco Systems, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), Dell, EDS, Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi Consulting, IBM Global Services, Infosys, Microsoft, Oracle, PeopleSoft, SAP, Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA[3]) is an American vendor of computers, computer components, computer software, and information-technology services, founded on 24 February 1982. , Unisys, and Wipro. For more information on this study, visit: http://www.itsma.com/research/abstracts/bps005.htm or contact Rob Leavitt at +1-781-862-8500, ext. 45 or rleavitt@itsma.com. About ITSMA's Brand Tracking Research ITSMA regularly conducts brand and competitive positioning studies in different segments of the IT market. Recent studies have explored buyer perceptions and preferences in IT Managed Services, Telecom and Networking Services, IT Storage Services, and IT Professional Services and Solutions. About ITSMA ITSMA specializes in helping companies market and sell services and solutions. As a membership organization, we work with the world's leading technology and professional services firms to generate new business, build customer loyalty, and strengthen brand differentiation. Our members include industry leaders such as Accenture, Cisco Systems, EDS, EMC (1) (EMC Corporation, Hopkinton, MA, www.emc.com) The leading supplier of storage products for midrange computers and mainframes. Founded in 1979 by Richard J. Egan and Roger Marino, EMC has developed advanced storage and retrieval technologies for the world's largest companies. , Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Nokia, SAP, Siemens, and Unisys. Through research, consulting, training, and events we provide the insight and expertise companies need to improve marketing performance and business results. ITSMA is based in Lexington, Massachusetts, and has offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Learn more at www.itsma.com. Copyright (C) 2004 ITSMA. All Rights Reserved. |
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