What? The global IT services market saw contract value fall 40 per cent in the second quarter of 2011 year-on-year, representing a low not seen since 2003.
So what? A report by research company Ovum found that contract value for this year's second quarter came up to $19 billion (£11.8 billion), which marks a 40 per cent decline from the same time last year and the lowest quarterly figure for more than eight years. Ovum blamed the figures on a lack of large-scale Government projects to offset lacklustre returns from enterprise customers.
Additionally, the number of deals worldwide has gone downhill for the fourth consecutive quarter and had dropped 20 per cent year-on-year to 384 deals, the report noted.
According to a report by Computerworld, Europe generated 58 per cent of private sector total contract value in the second quarter of 2011, with the fall in spending on IT services by enterprises most noticeable in North America.
On a more positive note, public sector demand remains strong, with the number of deals announced hitting its highest level since 2008. The vast majority of this activity was in the US, with big wins for HP and Northrop Grumman.
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