IT Outsorcing within the Nordics_comparison of the markets

Outsourcing maturity is often characterized by the penetration of Outsourcing across all levels of business within a country or region. It also can take into account the stage of the Outsourcing lifecycle, the types of processes being outsourced and whether companies are Outsourcing for the first, second or third time. The analysis of the four Nordic countries demonstrated significant differences in the level of maturity across the region.

Within the Nordic countries, Sweden has the largest share of global companies. Traditionally, these are also the type of companies to outsource their IT services. Other small Swedish companies have only started Outsourcing in recent years and the growth in and attitude towards Outsourcing for smaller companies has improved significantly lately. Various surveys indicate that Sweden has the lowest degree of Outsourcing maturity within the Nordic region, however, now that we see Outsourcing increased within the SME (small and medium enterprises) market segment, we are also seeing the attitude towards Outsourcing improving.

Norway's Outsourcing experience is still dominated by the Banking Sector and has not yet spread across the other vertical industries in the same way as some of the other countries in the area. Having said that, the number of Banks Outsourcing their IT services within Norway is larger than any of its neighboring countries.

Finally, when it comes to Denmark, it is clear that the degree of maturity lags somewhat behind that of Finland and Norway as it has far less penetration in the market. However, Outsourcing in general is evenly distributed between the various Danish industry vehicles which provide an encouraging sign that Outsourcing within Denmark will soon start to mature in an effective and balanced way.

The Nordic region is certainly becoming more sophisticated in its use of Outsourcing and the elements are now being seen:

• Clear and well-established Sourcing strategies;
• Shorter lead procurement procedures;
• Further development of vendor competencies;
• Management and Follow-up methods.

Furthermore, the future of the Nordics market is changing significantly with the opening of close markets like Lithuania, Poland and other recent accession states.

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