This IDC study explores the battle being waged by software and services companies to gain the upper hand with buyers as the lead business process provider, competing via alliance and acquisition strategies to gain needed business process IP.

"What is needed is a business model that works for the service provider (whether BPO or on-demand software as a service) and also accounts fairly for the value of the process IP owner, even though the latter has no direct relationship with the end customer (and hence no opportunity for charge for an extended use). It is in the interests of both sides to find a new way to structure this type of relationship," says Henry D. Morris, senior vice president, Worldwide Software and Services Research.