IDC (International Data Corporation), a global IT market research consultancy, analyzed 100 large-scale outsourcing cases in Europe last year. On a monetary basis, the European IT outsourcing market was worth $44 billion in 2003, up 73 percent compared with 2002. The clear market leader was the U.K. where 46 of these transactions took place; the U.K. also accounted for 46 percent of total on the basis of money spent. IBM Global Service was the largest provider, winning 24 contracts worth 26 percent of the sector's value.
IDC experts' analysis was that the increase in IT outsourcing is related to public sector informatization drives, particularly e- Government projects. In 2003, public sector outsourcing accounted for 28 of the 100 largest projects, worth 44 percent of the market in monetary terms.
And the market is expected to grow further. The EU executive committee supports each national government's e-Government project via the "eEurope 25 Action Plan" - an initiative prepared in 2002 in the interests of public administration modernization.
According to Kable, a British research firm, as the EU expanded by 10 new nations recently, the scale of the public sector's IT outsourcing market is expected to expand by a further $4.5 billion. Last year, the overall IT expenditure of the European public is believed to have reached $83 billion. Korean firms need to take an active interest in this massive growth market.
Source: IDC and Gartner Group
