www.consultant-news.com  31.01.2009

New research from the Information Technology Services Marketing Association (ITSMA) shows that the ability to deliver results quickly and save clients money are where the real opportunities for differentiation lie today. None of the providers in ITSMA's "Annual Brand Tracking Study for IT Professional Services" have distinguished themselves in these two areas, and most are falling short, according to the study respondents. Firms that can improve their standing in these areas have an opportunity to distance themselves from the crowd.

Meanwhile, buyers of IT professional services and solutions value dependability, collaboration, and open and honest communication most when selecting a provider. However, firms had similar rankings in these attributes, with no real standouts.

Customers are more familiar with, and more likely to call IBM than any other provider of IT professional services examined in the study. The research also reveals that, of the five predominantly offshore firms included in the study, only Cognizant and Infosys have migrated their brands from offshore outsourcers to global technology consulting and solutions firms.

ITSMA identifies the leaders in a fragmented market

ITSMA determines brand leadership by assigning each company a Brand Equity Index (BEI) score, which is calculated by weighting and summing individual firms' ratings for unaided awareness, aided awareness, first firm to call, familiarity, and favourability.

With a BEI score of 50.4, IBM emerges with the highest brand equity for the examined IT professional services firms. Other top achievers include HP, Accenture, EDS, Deloitte, and KPMG. The next tier of BEI ranked companies included: Capgemini, CSC, BearingPoint, and McKinsey.

Of the five predominantly offshore firms included in the study -- Cognizant, Infosys, Satyam, TCS, and Wipro -- Infosys and Cognizant emerged with the top BEI scores.

There are a few market leaders and a bigger pack of followers that jockey for position, the results of which depend on market trends and buyer wants and needs. Yet the market leader firms do not control the market share. There is plenty of opportunity to succeed in this fragmented market.

Most important selection criteria

ITSMA's Senior Vice President of Research, Julie Schwartz, observes: "IBM leads the pack this year as it has for many years. And there are a few other market leaders that come close, but no one, not even IBM, controls market share in this very fragmented market. Right now, buyers are under pressure to reduce their budgets and maximize return on investment. There is a tremendous opportunity for firms to break free from the pack in two areas: saving client's money and delivering results quickly. The research also shows that providers need to do more to provide proof points."

The report examined 17 professional services and solutions firms, including Accenture, Bain, BearingPoint, BT/British Telecom (incl. INS, Counterpane), Capgemini, Cognizant Technology Solutions/Cognizant, CSC/Computer Sciences Corporation, EDS, Hewlett-Packard/HP, IBM, Infosys, KPMG, McKinsey, Satyam, TCS/Tata Consulting Services, and Wipro.