Outsourcing telecom contracts loses global corporations £12 billion, survey shows

Top global corporations including a number of financial companies are losing an estimated £12 billion through failings in outsourcing telecoms contracts, a new report has revealed.

Findings from a study by Forrester Consulting, which was requested by Hudson & Yorke, revealed that efficiency could be increased in 80 per cent of all telecoms sourcing projects commissioned by large businesses.

Chief information officers (CIO) are failing to define their telecoms strategy, meaning that projects do not achieve the objectives behind the investment, the research showed.

The study also revealed that although 20 per cent of IT budgets are being spent on telecom initiatives, CIOs are not investing the equivalent amount of time into the projects.

Harry McDermott, chief executive officer at Hudson & Yorke, said: "CIOs are increasingly expected by their CEOs and CFOs to deliver more services and improved quality at less cost.

“There is clearly a significant discrepancy between what large organisations hope to achieve with a major telecoms sourcing project, and the reality of what is currently being delivered with limited experience and resources."

He added that large businesses should be aware that the adoption of IT strategies such as cloud computing and virtualisation are increasingly linked to the optimisation of a company’s telecoms infrastructure.

Over 80 multinational corporations from 12 countries took part in the research.

By Jim Ottewill