Global IT services contracts value continued to decline in 2017

IT services deals experienced a steep decline in 2017, both in terms of the number of deals and total contract value (TCV), compared to both 2016 and 2015.

While the TCV witnessed a significant annual decline of 33.3% in 2017 to reach a value of US$61.4 billion, the number of deals announced (4,099) saw a considerable decrease of 25.6% in 2017 compared to 2016, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

The average contract value also took a beating in 2017 compared to the previous two years. However, the average contract duration experienced a slight increase (2%) in 2017 compared to 2016, which shows that companies are still willing to enter into long term contracts with IT services providers.

Application outsourcing contracts were at the forefront of the total number of deals signed in 2017, accounting for 38.4%. With respect to the TCV of the deals, infrastructure outsourcing contracts dominated the IT service contracts with a TCV of $31.8bn. North America led in terms of the TCV of the contracts announced in the infrastructure outsourcing segment, with a TCV of $16bn, followed by Europe with a TCV of $10.6bn.

Piyush Sharma, Lead Technology Analyst at
GlobalData, comments: “Although the TCV of the contracts announced in the infrastructure outsourcing segment was the highest in 2017, it witnessed a considerable decline due to fewer mega deals, meaning deals over $500m, compared to the previous two years.”

The BPO segment witnessed the renewal of three large deals (over $100m) in 2017, compared to only one large deal each in the last two years. While, TCS dominated the BPO segment with respect to the TCV, courtesy of the mega deal it renewed with Nielsen Holdings, Hays plc dominated the segment on the basis of the number of deals announced in 2017.


Meanwhile, the systems integration and consulting segments experienced a considerable decline in their TCVs primarily due to the absence of large value deals compared to nine and 15 large deals in these segments in 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Sharma concludes: “Within IT solution areas, cloud computing and information management/analytics segments dominated the IT services segment in 2017, as enterprises are looking to reduce their capital and operation costs and enhance their decision making process. Moreover, a significant number of deals with a scope of information management are set to expire in 2018, providing opportunities for analytics and business intelligence vendors.”
AvePoint has introduced updates to its Confidence Platform, with a focus on AI data protection,...
The Q1 2026 RF Front-End Modules & Components report highlights recent patent activity and...
Pax8 teams up with NinjaOne, aiming to strengthen managed service providers through enhanced...
Exploring identity challenges with AI agents and governance opportunities for secure and scalable...
TCS is expanding its partnership with Google Cloud to support AI-driven operating models aimed at...
NetApp has introduced new solutions with Google Cloud aimed at helping enterprises manage data for...
Oracle has expanded its partnership with Google Cloud, adding new AI capabilities and regional...
Netcompany’s PULSE AI technology is being used in a partnership with a UK cycling team to support...