IDC's Canadian Strategic Outsourcing service examines both the traditional model of IS outsourcing and the emergence of new sourcing models such as asset-light remote management, utility computing, and next-generation approaches of outsourcing 2.0 and smartsourcing. This research identifies the latest trends affecting the market and reveals how the principles of next-generation models such as the dissemination of IT services, the transformational power of outsourcing, and the alignment of various internal and external sourcing models with corporate strategies will impact the existing marketplace and create opportunities for a range of new and emerging service providers. IDC's analysis of the competitive environment for outsourcing highlights key strategies that organizations can use to expand and become more competitive.

This service covers the following segments of the Canadian strategic outsourcing services market:

• IS outsourcing services
• Network and desktop outsourcing services
• Data centre services
• Systems infrastructure services

Throughout the year, this service will address the following topics:

• The strategic value of third-party services
• The alignment of sourcing strategies with IT and business objectives
• How IT functions deliver business value
• Role of outsourcing advisors
• Competitive analysis
• Sales, marketing, and customer service strategies
• Market leaders, laggards, and newcomers
• Emerging trends and issues
• Best practices in relationship and contract management

Our research addresses the following issues that are critical to your success:

1. What is the revenue opportunity for the provision of outsourcing services in Canada?
2. What are the competitive market positions and perceptions of major service providers?
3. Which service providers are best positioned to increase market share?
4. How can vendors best differentiate themselves in the market?
5. What are the challenges of network and desktop management, and how are Canadian businesses addressing this fundamental IT activity?
6. What are the best approaches to expand markets and services?
7. How can companies best leverage the portfolio of outsourced services and service providers?
8. How will new delivery models impact the future outsourcing services market?
9. What are the elements of an excellent outsourcing experience, and what are the factors that lead to success?
10. How can benchmarking be used to improve market competitiveness?

IDC's Canadian Strategic Outsourcing service examines how systems/network integrators, emerging hosting service companies, management service providers, and other IT service organizations are positioning themselves to compete in the outsourcing market. This service reviews the strategies, market positioning, and future direction of several providers in the outsourcing marketplace, including:

Accenture, Allstream, AT&T Canada, Bell Canada, Capgemini, CGI Group, Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC), EDS, Fusepoint, HP Services, IBM Global Services, NCR, Q9 Networks, SaskTel, TELUS, and xwave.

This service focuses on the following core research. In addition to the insight provided in this service, IDC may conduct additional research on specific topics, or emerging market segments, via research offerings that require additional IDC funding and client investment.

This document provides important market information. The research identifies market sizing, key industry trends, and service activities of competing businesses, with a focused discussion of end-user services demand.

This analysis examines the behavior of providers of IT outsourcing services in Canada. It describes which providers are winning in the market and why.

Price Benchmarking

IDC's price benchmarking reports have covered market pricing for infrastructure outsourcing areas such as consulting, professional services, and mainframe and server hosting.

This analysis includes persona- or role-based segmentation on selected roles of individuals within an organization. Personas are archetypes of individuals with similar roles within organizations and are defined based on their needs, usage, and decision-making capabilities around technology products and services.

IDC offers a complete market intelligence solution customized to meet your business requirements. The array of products and services available to you includes:

• The opportunity to have your specific questions answered through personal interaction with industry experts who cover the topics and markets in your service
• Around-the-clock access to our market intelligence on idc.com, IDC's personalized Web experience
• A view of the market's future with 12 months of continuous intelligence about its direction and the reasons behind it, along with actionable advice for taking advantage of existing and emerging opportunities
• Special client discount pricing on purchases of research from other services
• Complimentary admission to IDC's annual Directions conference, where you'll hear our latest forecasts and network with IDC analysts and other industry professionals
• Complimentary invitations to monthly executive telebriefings, interactive forums designed to provide you with insights about research and strategies directly from IDC analysts

To find out how our flexible packaging options can meet your specific business needs, please contact your IDC sales executive.

As a privately held company, IDC believes that our customers are our primary constituency. A large percentage of every revenue dollar is reinvested back into our products, including more analysts, more geographic coverage, and extensive primary research.

Our steady growth over the past 10-plus years reflects our commitment to investing in our customers.