The IT outsourcing industry just logged its worst first quarter in terms of annual contract value of deals awarded since 2004, according to analysis by outsourcing consultancy and research firm Information Services Group (ISG). Just $3.5 billion in annual contact value was awarded in the three-month period, down 27 percent from the same time last year, said ISG.

The mega-deal market showed particular softness this quarter, says ISG president John Keppel, but it was weakness in the Asia Pacific and the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) regions that brought contract values down so significantly.

“For Asia Pacific it was really [a] tough comparison. In the first quarter last year, the region’s performance was at near record levels and this was simply impossible to repeat,” Keppel says. “Overall outsourcing activity, however, looks strong for the region so we put this largely down to timing with such a strong recent showing.”

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