The 'Big Six' of outsourcing –Accenture, ACS, CSC, EDS, HP, and IBM – saw their combined market share fall by well over half (57%) in the first quarter of 2005, according to the latest Quarterly Index from TPI. They have won only 27% of the €11 billion ($14.2 billion) of major contracts (those worth over €40 million) awarded so far this year, compared with 63% in the first quarter of 2004. Non-Big Six firms have secured the majority (64%) of new deals against 45% a year ago.
Duncan Aitchison, Managing Director, International with TPI, the leading sourcing advisory firm, comments: "So far in 2005 a number of smaller companies have successfully challenged the Big Six, continuing the trend we saw in 2004. The growing number of service providers successfully contending for deals could indicate further competition for the Big Six and an increasing choice of suppliers for clients this year."
The providers who gained on the Big Six include Atos Origin (four contracts worth €800 million), British Telecom (seven contracts totaling €3.6 billion) and Hewitt (four contracts and over €600 million).
The Big Six particularly lost ground in information technology outsourcing (ITO).