The latest study from information technology consulting firm Gartner, Inc. shows that global IT services revenue rose 8.2 percent in 2008, to $806 billion, from $745 billion in 2007. IBM remains the worldwide market leader, with 7.3 percent of the global market share, followed by HP (4.8 percent), Accenture (2.9 percent), Fujitsu (2.5 percent), and CSC (2.1 percent).

Kathryn Hale, research vice president for Gartner’s worldwide IT services group, says: “Vendors had six to eight months of ‘business as usual’ in 2008 and then approximately four months encountering the beginning of the global economic downturn, featuring widespread cost restrictions and cost reductions. The only two segments of the market that grew less than forecast were IT management and process management. This is particularly surprising, because in economic hard times the potential cost savings from outsourcing usually keeps this market segment buoyant. However, apparently buyer hesitation to commit to the long-term requirements of outsourcing agreements took precedence in 2008.”

The full report - “Market Share: IT Services, Worldwide Rankings, 2008.” – is available on Gartner’s site. 

Worldwide IT Services Vendors by Revenue in 2008 (Millions of U.S. Dollars)

IBM – 58,891

HP – 38,584

Accenture – 23,732

Fujitsu – 20,432

CSC – 17,112

Others – 647,172

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