Gartner's Magic Quadrant for North American help desk outsourcing services is designed to help you identify and evaluate help desk outsourcing external service providers (ESPs) for your enterprise. The ESPs in this Magic Quadrant can provide help desk services, but their competencies and offerings vary. Clients must base their selections on detailed evaluations of their outsourcing objectives and technical requirements, as well as the ESP's ability to fulfill those expectations.

As previously reported, the help desk outsourcing service market is mature, but we added two new Indian providers and there were only minor shifts with the previous participants. Also, because of the mature market, the use of self-help tools and alternative contact methods (such as e-mail, instant messaging and Web access), and Web scoreboards to report help desk service-level results are all common service offerings.

Clients now expect the use of Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) practices to help standardize practices and reduce costs, and these practices generally can be applied by most service providers.

The continued pressure to keep costs for the help desk low has many providers using alternative geographic locations to host help desk agents. These locations may be onshore, "nearshore" or offshore. Some customers have mixed experiences with the offshore alternative, which resulted in a reduction in quality of service. This reduction primarily can be attributed to the content of the knowledge database, geographical cultural differences, language communication skills and high turnover rates at the offshore location. All of these factors affect the quality of service. Clients need to review the service providers' skills and their incident resolution experience when deciding on delivery locations.

The help desk outsourcing capabilities vary among ESPs, and some concentrate on specific vertical markets or end-user roles. We have noted these vertical markets for the service providers, when appropriate.

Also, this year all the ESPs were using some form of remote diagnostic tools to improve incident resolution (that is, NetMeeting, Timbuktu and so on). Furthermore, clients are generally very satisfied with the ESP adoption of methodologies, processes and services to deliver better client satisfaction. Again like last year, there is a heavy concentration of service providers that fall into the Challengers and Leaders quadrants (see Figure 1).

The North American help desk management service market will grow at a 4.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $9 billion in 2006 to $11.5 billion in 2011.

Gartner defines help desk services as "the provision of end-user support for all IT services." Services include:

• Help desk
• First-level support
• Second-level support
• Problem management
• Problem categorization and logging
• Problem tracking and escalation
• Problem resolution

Methodology

For this Magic Quadrant, we delivered a formal presentation to each participating ESP and asked each to provide a list of five North American references. We used the presentations and references, along with other Gartner analysts' industry knowledge, to determine the final assessments of each ESP. Each component of our analysis was weighted:

• References counted for 70% of the score. We contacted references to gather information about their experiences with their ESPs.
• Vendor presentations counted for 20% of the score. Vendors described their capabilities and provided strategic directions for their help desk service businesses.
• Gartner analysts' assessments counted for 10% of the score.

We also interviewed end users in more than 110 organizations:

• Organizations ranged in size from slightly fewer than 1,000 users to more than 150,000 users.
• More than 90% of the organizations used the same provider for desktop and help desk support. Fewer than 10% used only that provider for help desk services.
• Thirty-five percent of the organizations relied on the same provider for other IT services beyond the desktop and help desk services.
• The organizations represented many government (federal, state and local) agencies and also industries, such as, financial services, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and educational institutions.
• More than 95% of the end users had formal service-level agreements (SLAs).
• More than 95% of the SLAs included penalties for underperformance.
• More than 35% of the SLAs had incentives for overperformance. Gartner emphasizes that incentives should given if the service provider provides value to the client or to encourage better performance such as allowing the service provider to earn back a previously paid penalty after meeting future SLAs.

As well as reference checking, Gartner provided assessments of each ESP. The weighting of each component is as follows:

• References counted for 70% of the total score. Gartner contacted references from each of the vendors to gather information about their experiences with their ESPs.
• Vendor presentations counted for 20% of the score. In these presentations, the vendors described their capabilities and provided strategic directions for their desktop managed services businesses.
• Gartner analysts' assessments counted for 10% of the score.

The compilation of the results from the presentations and reference checks led to the final placement of the ESPs in the Magic Quadrant. The positioning reflects their completeness of vision and ability to execute.

This Magic Quadrant relied heavily on checking ESP-supplied customer references. Participating ESPs were required to have at least $15 million in help desk service revenue from North American clients and to supply five references. If qualified service providers would not actively participate in the study, then we elected to include these service providers based on Gartner's belief that the ESPs were well-known. They were evaluated based on analysts' knowledge of the market and on feedback from clients.

Added this year were two Indian help desk providers. Genpact and HCL Technologies were included because they meet the revenue and reference criteria. Also, Spherion acquired Technisource and decided to move the help desk service to this subsidiary; therefore, Spherion is now using the Technisource name in this Magic Quadrant.

None

Each ESP's ability to execute was analyzed based on the following criteria:

• Product or service
• Effective resourcing
• Transition management
• Sales execution/pricing
• Contract/deal structure
• Pricing acceptance
• Marketing execution
• Clarity of services, roles and responsibilities
• Client delivery model/relationship management
• Customer experience
• Operations
• SLAs, metrics and measurement programs
• Expertise with technical support/operations/tools
• Market responsiveness and track record
• Client innovation
• Overall viability (business unit, financial, strategy and organization)

The Ability to Execute axis positions each ESP based on its success in delivering results, as well as its preparation to deliver results in the future. Gartner verifies an ESP's capability to deliver help desk services through extensive interviews with the ESP's clients and references.

ESPs were evaluated on their quality and efficacy of the processes, systems, methods or procedures that enable them to perform competitively, efficiently and effectively. They were also evaluated on their ability to have a positive effect on revenue, retention and reputation. Ultimately, ESPs were judged on their capability and success in capitalizing on their vision.

Each criterion is ranked high, standard or low in importance and scored accordingly.

Criteria Ranked "High"

Product or Service: We look at each ESP's core services that compete in or serve the defined market. The analysis includes service capabilities, quality, feature sets and skills, whether offered natively or through agreements or partnerships with OEMs according to the market definition and detailed in the subcriteria. Two considerations are:

• Effective resourcing: We focus on the ESP's ability to provide the relevant resources effectively to the customer. We ask, "How do you decide on the resources required to support a customer? Do you have tools and procedures to assist with resource allocation? What are your current capabilities in terms of staff availability and facilities?"
• Transition management: We evaluate the ESP's investments in its people, focusing on what practices are in place to recruit, train and retain qualified staff. We ask, "What are the key skill sets and competencies of the resources? What changes in the skill set mix do you anticipate during the next two years?" ESPs are also judged on their capability to integrate staff from client organizations by offering a competitive job opportunity — for example, addressing (in different countries) salary and benefits packages, retraining, career progression opportunities and minimized disruption due to the employee's job location. We ask, "Do you have a quality process and project plan for transition? What are your procedures for transitioning the workload to your facility? How do you handle the hiring of your customers' employees?"

Sales Execution/Pricing: We examine each ESP's capabilities in all pre-sales activities and the structures that support them. This includes deal management, pricing and negotiation. The areas we review are:

• Contract/deal structure: We ask each ESP to explain the management of various contracts and how the relationship is structured to meet the needs of both parties. We also ask, "How do your deals support the service recipient's and service provider's strategic goals? Is there a shared vision? Do you have a process to ensure that the visions remain aligned over the life of the contract? From a contractual point of view, how can you provide flexibility and agility in the provision of help desk services?"
• Pricing acceptance: We evaluate each ESP's capability to manage price and reduce costs (through new service offerings, improved productivity, management tools, quality, resource allocation or staff reductions). This information is key in outsourcing deals where the prime objective is gaining economies of scale. We also examine each ESP's pricing schemes and their clarity. We ask, "How are the various services priced? Are there add-on costs? Do you provide price justification based on business value to your customers?"

Marketing Execution: We explore the clarity, quality, creativity and efficacy of programs designed to deliver each ESP's message to influence the market, promote the brand and business, increase awareness of the service solutions, and establish a positive identification with the service solutions/brand and organization among buyers. This "mind share" can be driven by a combination of publicity, promotions, thought leadership, word of mouth and sales activities. We evaluate two primary areas:

• Clarity of services, roles and responsibilities: As part of a comprehensive governance effort, ESPs must be willing to establish clear roles and responsibility matrices. This will avoid confusion among the parties, reduce duplication of roles, eliminate unclear responsibilities, and optimize decision making and project management processes. We ask, "What statement of work (SOW) structures describe the services offered? Do you have a standard format? If so, what is included? Is there a formal communication process to interact with the client?" We also ask each ESP to explain its relationship management role and how it supports what needs to be done for various service recipients.
• Client delivery model/relationship management: We examine each ESP's delivery capabilities and practices for help desk services, CRM and knowledge transfer, as well as quality control and quality assurance. The ESPs are evaluated on their overall client delivery model and their ability to apply repeatable practices consistently to successfully manage long-term relationships with customers, thus supporting emerging business and IT challenges. We ask ESPs to explain the organizational structure and procedures they use to manage their accounts and resolve differences, escalate problems and generally maintain a successful relationship with their customers. We also ask, "What is your style and approach to working in the client's cultural and political environment? How would you describe the roles of relationship management, contract management and service delivery management in an engagement?"

Customer Experience: We evaluate the relationships, products and services/programs that enable organizations to be successful with the service solutions evaluated. Specifically, this includes how organizations receive technical support or account support from their ESP. This can include ancillary tools, customer support programs (and the quality thereof), the availability of user groups and SLAs. ESPs were asked to provide 10 references for the help desk services they provide.

Operations: We examine each ESP's ability to meet its goals and commitments. Factors include the quality of the organizational structure (such as skills, experiences, programs, systems and other vehicles that enable the organization to operate effectively and efficiently on an ongoing basis). We evaluated two primary areas:

• SLAs: An effective performance measurement program is essential to determine whether the ESP is providing effective service delivery. We ask ESPs to explain their procedures for SLAs: How do you arrive at reasonable service levels for your service recipients? Do you have penalties or incentives tied to SLAs? Do you measure customer satisfaction? If so, how are the results of the survey used?
• Expertise with technical support/operations/tools: We evaluate the ESPs' depth and breadth in help desk service technology areas. Each ESP is evaluated on its skills and capabilities in help desk service environments, and on its capability to apply specific management toolsets and the associated personnel expertise to satisfy the needs of each deal. We ask, "What are the principal standards, solutions and systems that your company can manage in help desk service engagements? Exactly what help desk services do you provide? Do you have specialized operational processes or tools for help desk service management?"

Criteria Ranked "Standard"

Market Responsiveness and Track Record: We look at each ESP's ability to respond, change direction, be flexible and achieve competitive success as opportunities develop, competitors act, customer needs evolve and market dynamics change. This criterion also considers the provider's history of responsiveness.

Client Innovation: We ask, "Assuming your company pays attention to emerging trends and developments in the help desk service marketplace, how is that knowledge shared with your clients? Do you provide advice and recommendations regarding innovations and tools to customers? If so, then how are these presented? How do both parties meet their strategic and operational goals, and respond to business and technology changes? What examples of innovation and thought leadership have been brought to bear in client engagements? What are examples of future investments to stay ahead of the pack?" We also ask ESPs to explain their procedures for continuous improvement: "Do you use results from service levels to feed the continuous improvement process? How do you measure customer satisfaction? In the past 12 to 18 months, what innovations have you brought to market that have not been available previously?"

Criteria Ranked "Low"

Overall Viability (Business Unit, Financial, Strategy and Organization): Viability includes an assessment of the overall organization's financial health, the financial and practical success of the business unit, and the likelihood of the business unit to continue to invest in the service solution and advance the state of the art in the organization's service portfolio.

Each ESP's completeness of vision was analyzed according to the following criteria:

• Offering (product) strategy
• Practice area
• Operational/tools expertise
• Business model
• Methodologies
• Management acumen
• Market understanding
• Innovation
• Marketing strategy
• Sales strategy
• Vertical market/industry strategy
• Geographic strategy
• Regional capabilities
• Alliances and partnerships

The Vision axis reflects each ESP's prospects for success by analyzing its view of the market, service operating model, and strategic plans for growth and service improvements. Gartner verifies an ESP's vision regarding help desk services based on the ESP's presentation and on direct feedback from extensive interviews with the ESP's clients.

We ask each ESP many questions and evaluate each on its ability to articulate logical statements convincingly about market directions, innovations, customer needs and competitive forces. Ultimately, we rate ESPs on their understanding of how they can exploit market forces to create opportunities for themselves.

Each criterion is ranked high, standard or low in importance and scored accordingly.

Criteria Ranked "High"

Offering (product) strategy: We evaluate two areas:

• Practice area: We evaluate the composition of practice areas serving clients that require help desk services, including relative size, revenue, number of seats supported, geographic reach, leadership of the management team and the team's position in the corporate structure.
• Operational/tools expertise: We ask, "Do you have specialized operational process/tools? Are you using an ITIL or other process to manage your workload? What operational tools expertise do you offer to customers? Does your service provider use, as part of the help desk solution for your engagement, automated password resets? Does your service provider have other self-help, self-healing tools (such as knowledge management databases of problem resolution) that your end-user community can use for assistance? Are they effective? Does you provider use remote diagnostic tools to assist it in resolving issues remotely prior to dispatch? Does it seem to help resolve problems?"

Business Model: We evaluate two factors:

• Methodologies: We ask each ESP for a high-level description of its help desk service delivery business model. Is the model embedded in a larger methodology? How does this methodology link technology implementation to business objectives? We review each ESP's procedures (operational, transitional, program management, relationship management and change management) that are provided to customers. We focus on the processes and best practices that the ESP implements for a smooth transition of systems, people and assets. We ask: "How do you ensure that the sourcing management processes are appropriate and effective for your various clients? How do you ensure that help desk services can deliver high-value services by supporting applications and business processes? Are processes to measure bottom-line business results (or value delivered via an optimized and agile IT infrastructure) embedded in the methodology? If so, what are the key features for measuring results? What practices are used to ensure and control quality?"
• Management acumen: An ESP's success can be associated directly with its management structure and the experience of its managers. Having good plans and the people to carry them out is an essential ingredient. Good deals for both parties happen when managers focus on ensuring that the deals meet their clients' needs, and on satisfying the ESP's profit targets. We ask each ESP to explain the management teams it uses to support and manage customers. We also ask: "What is management's experience and skill levels? How are customer issues addressed? What are the experience and skill levels of executive management and the assigned key customer-facing managers? How are customer issues addressed? Does the customer have access to the appropriate level of management in the ESP?"

Criteria Ranked "Standard"

Market Understanding: We asked the ESPs to describe their strategic plan and vision as they relate to help desk services, as well as their commitment to aligning services with future market needs. We also ask: "How would you differentiate your strategic plan and vision from your competitors'? What is your company's heritage in this area? How long have help desk services been part of your service portfolio? How has it evolved and grown? How will it maintain a leading position in a challenging market?" ESPs also are evaluated on their ability to demonstrate a well-defined and well-articulated vision for assisting organizations in linking help desk services with enterprise technology and business strategy.

Innovation: We evaluate each ESP's position in the market as a "thought leader" and innovator. Each ESP is evaluated on its leadership and supporting investment to achieve its vision to develop innovative strategies in the help desk service market. We ask, "How does your company stay current with new technology and tools? Do you have alliances with other suppliers? Do you offer innovative services to your customers (for example, adaptability and agility of the services, quality of the services, ability in managing a long-term relationship)? How do you offer innovations to your customers? What investments is your company making to sustain and enhance its vision for innovative help desk services?"

Criteria Ranked "Low"

Marketing Strategy: We evaluate each ESP's strategy and approach to the market, and how they promote help desk services. We ask: "How many dedicated personnel do you have? How does your company measure the effectiveness of the business development model? What training do marketing people receive?" We evaluate ESPs' go-to-market strategy, including their capability to articulate their value proposition and differentiate their services. We also evaluate their penetration of industries and their capability to leverage vertical expertise in their sector and other sectors.

ESPs are also evaluated on their capability to demonstrate expertise in vertical markets and business processes, which are underpinned by help desk services. Each ESP is asked to supply a high-level sales organization chart to demonstrate its go-to-market strategy.

Sales Strategy: We evaluate each ESP's sales strategy and capability to sell help desk services. We ask: "How many dedicated personnel do you have? How does your company measure the effectiveness of the sales organization? What training do salespeople receive? What is your sales strategy for help desk services? Do you have standard sales processes and do you use sales productivity tools? How do you respond to requests for proposals?"

Vertical/Industry Strategy: We evaluate ESPs' strategy to direct resources, and their skills and offerings to meet the specific needs of individual market segments, including vertical industries. We evaluate each ESP's penetration of industries and their capability to leverage vertical expertise in their sector and other sectors. We also evaluate their ability to demonstrate expertise in vertical markets and business processes, which are underpinned by help desk services.

Geographic Strategy: We evaluate two categories:

• Regional capabilities: We evaluate each ESP's strategy to direct resources, skills and offerings to meet the specific needs of regions outside its "home" or native geography (directly or through partners, channels and subsidiaries) as appropriate for that geography and market.
• Alliances and partnerships: We evaluate ESPs' relationships with product providers or other service providers to add value, provide full-service solutions or bring innovation closer to their clients. ESPs are evaluated on their capability to demonstrate that they selected strategic relationships that are well-defined and successfully managed to operate in a client environment.

ESPs in the Leaders quadrant are performing well, have a clear vision of market direction and are actively building competencies to sustain their leadership positions in the market. From our analysis, the following ESPs (in alphabetical order) are leaders:

• Affiliated Computer Services (ACS)
• CompuCom
• CSC
• Dell
• EDS
• Getronics
• HP
• IBM
• Northrop Grumman
• Perot Systems
• Siemens IT Solutions and Services
• Unisys
• Verizon Business

All these ESPs have demonstrated that they have significant help desk outsourcing experience and understand the dynamics needed to deliver help desk services successfully. Experience weighs heavily in the Leaders quadrant.

ESPs in the Challengers quadrant execute well, but they have a less-defined view of market direction, so they may not be aggressive in preparing for the future. ESPs that emerged as challengers are:

• Ciber
• C3i
• CGI
• Genpact
• HCL Technologies
• Lockheed Martin
• Pomeroy IT Solutions
• SAIC
• Technisource (recently acquired by Spherion)
• TechTeam

These ESPs demonstrated a solid base of satisfied help desk outsourcing clients. Overall, each ESP in the Challengers quadrant has great potential to become a market leader by raising its strategic vision and broadening its service offerings to meet organizations' future needs.

ESPs in the Visionaries quadrant have a clear vision of market direction and are focused on preparing for that, but they can improve in optimizing service delivery. After reviewing each ESP's completeness of vision, no service provider was placed in the Visionaries quadrant. This is a further indication of the market's maturity.

ESPs in the Niche Players quadrant focus on a particular segment of the client base, as defined by characteristics such as size, vertical focus or selective help desk service offerings. Their capability to outperform or be innovative may be affected by this narrow focus. As was the case last year, GlobalServe was the only vendor that provided specialized services (for example, break/fix support) and/or concentrated on the delivery of these services.

GlobalServe continues to concentrates on the global delivery of procurement of PCs, the related global PC support and associated help desk services. It focuses primarily on providing these services for international clients.

ESPs that appear in the Niche Players quadrant are viable options for organizations to consider for help desk outsourcing. In this Magic Quadrant, ESPs identified as Niche Players may have limited experience in the general or commercial North American markets, or they may only provide specific service offerings.

• ACS has a strong financial position. Its fiscal 2007 revenue was $5.8 billion.
• At the IT outsourcing technical service desks, ACS supports more than 3.9 million contacts annually (including instant message and e-mails).
• ACS is well-positioned for PC support, and this service often works well with help desk support. In 2007, ACS raised the number of PCs it supported by its IT outsourcing department from 165,000 to over 200,000.

• ACS growth continues in business process outsourcing services, and IT services only account for 21% of its revenue. As in last year's study, we suggest caution since this business process outsourcing emphasis could lead to a decrease in service levels for IT services.
• We still noted a few comments from references that ACS is not proactive in offering innovation. If an organization is looking for innovation, then it should address this early and include it in the contract.
• Reference comments of areas to improve are relationship management and transition planning. Gartner suggests that users take the time to include relationship management processes and transition planning into the contract.

• C3i has a presence in 12 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies. The company is a good choice for that industry because it has in-depth experience in this area.
• C3i has a strong base supporting Siebel in the pharmaceutical market. Now that Oracle acquired Siebel, it has allowed C3i to further promote their support services, including help desk Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 and provisioning and technical site assessments in the clinical service market.
• In 2007, C3i's position in the Challengers quadrant remained the same, but it now supports more than 35,000 end users in the pharmaceutical market and supports clinical trials in 100 countries, 20 languages and more than 10,000 active sites.
• As part of C3i’s expansion, the company has operation sites in four locations: Denville, New Jersey; Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; Sofia, Bulgaria; and Hyderabad, India.

• Because C3i concentrates on commercial life sciences and clinical operation services, for organizations outside of these vertical and or related markets, C3i may not be the best candidate.
• Although references indicated that the technical expertise is very good, tools such as automatic password resets and self help tools were not generally offered. Clients need to examine whether these tools are appropriate and, if necessary, include them in their requirements.

• CGI is a global IT outsourcing provider with a North American focus; it remains the leading provider in Canada.
• In 2007, CGI supported more than 150,000 desktops and handled more than 3 million help desk calls annually.
• In 2007, clients rated the help desk management team and the support provided as very high quality.

• During 2007, CGI began to shift from concentrating on full-service IT outsourcing and formed the CGI Technology and Infrastructure division to provide standard infrastructure and operational services to facilitate selective sourcing opportunities. Because this strategy shift is just beginning to emerge, Gartner continues to position CGI in the Challengers quadrant.
• As noted in last year's study, although CGI is very strong in Canada, its help desk market penetration in the U.S. still is minimal. Therefore, U.S. clients need to evaluate CGI’s delivery capabilities for support within the US.
• Innovation continues to be an issue, with some references indicating that CGI is not very proactive in this area. Organizations signing deals with CGI should address innovation as a requirement in the contract.

• Ciber's IT outsourcing practice leverages vertical expertise in financial services, manufacturing, distribution and government to provide higher-level functional support, which carries over to distributed services and help desk services.
• In 2007, Ciber had more than 535 seats providing help desk support
• Ciber earned $30 million in help desk revenue in 2007.

• Ciber's primary focus continues to be on application- and business-oriented practices; PC and help desk services are secondary offerings.
• Ciber has not always allowed clients to interview the assigned managers. In these cases, some organizations felt that the management was only adequate. Clients should have a say in which key managers are assigned to their accounts.
• Ciber has an impressive set of tools, but these are not being promoted strongly to their clients. Ciber clients might gain value by adopting Ciber's industry standard tools instead of using their own tools.

• CompuCom continues to grow and improve its desktop outsourcing and help desk service offerings and has expanded its international delivery capabilities to Europe and the Asia/Pacific region.
• In 2006, CompuCom supported 1.3 million users with help desk services, and more than 1 million outsourced desktop seats in North America.
• CompuCom's clients continue to be satisfied with its high-quality services at competitive prices. CompuCom's growth and commitment to the business has progressively elevated it within the Leader's quadrant for the 2008 help desk Magic Quadrant.
• CompuCom continues to invest in relationship management methodologies and personnel. These investments were apparent during reference checks.

• CompuCom's service revenue grew 18% during the past year — more than the marketplace of 4.5% in North America. Although CompuCom generally performed well, review its resource capabilities to ensure that it can staff to meet demand.
• CompuCom has a strong presence in North America, with its recent expansion into Europe, the Asia/Pacific region and beyond; organizations seeking global delivery must verify that CompuCom offers offshore service capabilities to meet their requirements.

• CSC remains a leader in help desk services, and it has a very strong vision for the future.
• CSC continues to be one of the largest service providers in North America and has a strong base of clients worldwide.
• Overall, CSC in the Americas supported 416,115 PCs and handled approximately 6 million help desk contacts in 2007.

• CSC plans more activity in midsize outsourcing deals (contract value beginning at $50 million) and clients in these deals will need to ensure that CSC has the agility to meet their requirements.
• With the new CSC strategy named "Project Accelerate," clients and prospects should meet with their CSC teams to understand where CSC intends to support business growth via vertical business solutions, and CSC's global delivery capacity via the Covansys acquisition.
• CSC has expanded its global delivery of services and has 16 customer support service centers located in 13 countries. If a client is considering global delivery, then it must review the CSC options and be comfortable with the location, resources and subcontractors provided.

• Dell is growing its help desk services and has Dell badged agents available at seven major Dell facilities worldwide; Round Rock, Oklahoma City, Amsterdam, Bratislava, Bangalore, Casablanca and Guadalajara.
• Dell has strong plans to continue growing these services and expand its market presence. Dell is adding experienced senior leadership and has made acquisitions (SilverBack, ASAP and Everdream) to further this growth strategy.
• Dell provides desktop outsourcing services to more than 1.6 million seats, and it handles more than 250,000 help desk calls per month.

• Dell's approach to being very agile has led to some SOW that could allow confusion on areas of responsibility. Clients need to ensure that they have clear roles of responsibility included in their SOW.
• Dell is still primarily focused on supporting x86 environments; its capabilities are limited beyond that.
• With Dell's successful growth clients need to ensure that Dell has the resources and skill levels needed for their support.

• EDS continues to be one of the top leaders in help desk services, and references rate EDS' ability to deliver quality services as very high.
• In North America, EDS supports nearly 1.7 million distributed PCs, and handles more than 10 million help desk calls annually.
• EDS has 28 global service centers using ITIL-based work processes and governed by QMS and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001-2000 practices.

• EDS still has a high cost of delivery, but with bundling of services and global delivery this is becoming more competitive. Determine whether you can take advantage of EDS's bundled services or global delivery to improve cost and quality.
• Although EDS has strong management, there is still room for improvement in relationship management skills. Some reference indicated they think this can be improved, and we recommend that clients should have language in contracts that give them a voice on the assigned key managers.

• Genpact started in 1997 as a captive Indian IT services company supporting the GE families of companies. In 2005, it became an independent company and continued to deliver the help desk to a strong base of GE companies.
• Genpact has more than nine years of experience delivering IT help desk services from India and understands how to provide help desk services to North American companies.
• Genpact has strong methodologies using Lean Six Sigma practices.

• References were very positive about Genpact and their capabilities, but most of the references they supplied were from the GE family and they understand the GE culture. For new clients, ensure that you review Genpact transition plans and the process it will use to support your organization's requirements.
• References also mentioned that with Genpact, SLAs were not as important because the deal started as a captive service. Gartner emphasizes that clients should negotiate to have formal SLAs and that these should include financial recourse.
• In addition, relationship management was not emphasized. Clients should ensure that they have good relationship management processes in place and that they have a say on the key managers who are assigned to their account.

• KPN, a leading telecommunications provider with more than $19 billion in revenue, recently purchased Getronics. This provides Getronics with strong financial stability.
• Getronics emphasizes its "Future-Ready Workspace" blueprint and solution to provide consistency for best practice, tools and global delivery that improve quality and offer cost savings.
• In 2007, Getronics handled 2.8 million help desk calls and supported 905,000 outsourced desktop seats in North America.

• With the purchase of Getronics by KPN, existing clients need to ensure that they continue to get the support negotiated in their original contracts and that they have a say in the placement of key Getronics staff on their account.
• So far, we have not seen any changes to Getronics' marketing of its help desk outsourcing capabilities in North America. Clients will need to research whether Getronics is appropriate for their situation.
• This year's references mention some issues with the proactive introduction of tools to support the client help desk. We suggest that clients examine, in detail, the Future-Ready Work space blueprint and solution that Getronics is offering.

• GlobalServe continues to focus on supporting global companies. Although it serves North American companies, it also offers support to companies globally by enlisting and managing multiple subcontractors from countries worldwide.
• GlobalServe provides an alternative approach to service with its distributed international businesses. Because its focus continues to be primarily international, GlobalServe falls into the Niche Players quadrant.
• GlobalServe's customer goals are to assist customers with optimizing their business performance, reduce total cost of customer support through services of help desk support, as well as the entire desktop life cycle from procurement, to management, to the disposal of PCs.

• GlobalServe uses a network of subcontractors; therefore, organizations must have appropriate SLAs in place to ensure consistent quality.
• Besides SLAs, references were concerned about the scope of the services that were available and relationship management skills. When negotiating the contract, ensure that the scope of work is clearly defined and that you have a say in the key managers who are assigned to the account.

• HCL Technologies is a strong financial company with more than $4.3 billion in revenue.
• The help desk services are still emerging from India, but HCL is one of the leaders and it handles, worldwide, more than five million help desk calls in 2007.
• HCL has service desks in five geographic locations, allowing it to offer lower cost alternatives: India, Northern Ireland, Poland, China and Malaysia.

• Although HCL Technologies has good technical support and tools, not all the references received the same quality. Potential clients need to ensure that their technical needs are described and documented in the contract.
• Innovation was another area where references gave mixed responses. If you want HCL to provide innovation, then these expectations need to be clearly stated and included in the SOW.
• There have been some issues with the assigned management support, so interview the assigned managers and ensure that you are comfortable with the selection.

• In 2007, HP managed 2.15 million help desk seats and 1.7 million desktops globally.
• HP is revitalizing its End-User Workplace Solutions portfolio with a next generation product line that focuses not only on delivery optimization, but on personalizing its End-User Workplace Solutions services to improve productivity.
• HP leverages its product and software expertise and company R&D to drive innovation and service quality.

• Some of HP's references reported issues with assigned management teams, SLAs, and resources. Client need to address each of these items to ensure consistent delivery.
• Some references indicated that the technical expertise was good, but tools such as automatic password resets and self-help tools were not generally offered. Clients need to examine whether these tools are appropriate and, if necessary, include them in their requirements.

• IBM continued to be positioned as a leader in the help desk outsourcing services Magic Quadrant for 2008.
• Worldwide, IBM receives more than 3.4 million help desk calls a month, and it manages and maintains more than 2.5 million desktops.
• IBM is very good at leveraging processes, skills and leadership for its clients.

• IBM is considered less agile and slower to adapt; therefore, dynamic organizations should build flexibility into the deal.
• As the service matures, clients are expecting more from service providers and some references felt that IBM was slow at providing tools and aids to support the help desks.

• Lockheed Martin's IT business unit continues to focus on government accounts. It provides a high level of service and, therefore, is in the Challengers quadrant.
• Lockheed Martin manages more than 440,000 desktop users and handles more than 435,000 help desk calls per month. It continues to grow its business by 20% annually.
• For government organizations, Lockheed Martin remains a good choice to include in desktop or help desk outsourcing bids.

• Because Lockheed Martin continues to focus on government accounts, the vendor is not an option for commercial clients.
• Clients still feel Lockheed Martin is not as proactive with innovation, and we advise clients to address it in their Statement of Work and included procedures to address innovation in the contract.

• Northrop Grumman maintains a leadership position in the government sector while it grows its commercial business. This is reflected in its position in the Leaders quadrant.
• Northrop Grumman has more than one million desktop seats under contract and handles more than 2.5 million help desk calls annually.
• Northrop Grumman continues to leverage industry standard frameworks (such as ITIL, CMMI, ISO 9000 and ISO 20000) and best practices under its quality initiatives.

• This year references mention the lack of the introduction of tools to support the client help desk. We suggest the client explore the tools available from Northrop and ask for the ones that may be appropriate.
• References reported some issues with SOW and clarity around roles and responsibilities. Clients need to ensure that they document their needs and include these in the contract.
• Although Northrop Grumman promotes flexibility and will commit to service levels, clients need to ensure that the SLAs have financial recourse if the metrics are not met.

• Perot Systems, with more than 180,000 monthly help desk calls and more than 225,000 desktop users supported annually, continues to perform as a leader in desktop and help desk support.
• Perot globally provides 24/7 operations with North American and European language capabilities and arbitrage benefits from nearshore and offshore delivery centers.
• Perot has help desk locations in Plano, Texas; Noida, India; Bucharest, Romania and Guadalajara, Mexico to provide global support. It is pursuing low cost domestic locations to further enhance its services.

• This year some references were expecting more innovation from Perot and felt they were not proactive. Ensure that if you are expecting innovation, then it is discussed and included in the contract.
• Although Perot Systems has stated that it has enhanced the help desk with new tools, a few references did not see these tools to support the help desk. If you need various tools and support these should be included in the SOW.

• Pomeroy has implemented ITIL processes and other quality processes to improve its ability to execute significantly. It continues to progress toward a more-comprehensive vision.
• Pomeroy annually supports more than 3.53 million help desk incidents and more than 1.4 million desktop events.
• Pomeroy is concentrating on five vertical markets to promote its services: financial services, healthcare/pharmaceutical, public sector, retail and manufacturing.

• This year, Pomeroy’s references reported some issues with the Pomeroy assigned management team. Clients should have a say in the placement of key management staff on their account.
• Pomeroy references also had issues with the introduction of innovation into the deal. Clients need to ensure there is a plan for proactive delivery of innovation.
• Finally, some references had issues with Pomeroy's technical skills and its experience with any tools the clients required. Before signing a contract, clients should review Pomeroy's technical skills and its experience with any tools clients need.

• SAIC's approach is to concentrate on commercial companies in energy, life sciences and utility industries and on federal, state and local government organizations, as well as the U.K. public sector.
• SAIC supports more than 972,000 desktop users and handles more than 1.43 million help desk calls per year worldwide.
• SAIC's outsourcing approach is to optimize IT assets and services to help clients reduce costs, improve performance, and increase customer satisfaction.

• SAIC continues to focus IT outsourcing solutions in the infrastructure area across the key vertical markets it supports. Organizations in vertical markets may want to consider SAIC as an option for their desktop or help desk outsourcing solutions.
• Clients should evaluate SAIC's procedures and methodologies that they used, and should ensure that its roles and responsibilities in the SOW are clear.

• In North America, Siemens had strong revenue growth of 11.7% CAGR during the past three years.
• Of the 30 million calls that Siemens handles on a worldwide basis, 7 million originate in the U.S. Siemens supports more than 1.7 million desktop users in the U.S. annually.
• Siemens strategy for service excellence is through continuous efficiencies and customer satisfaction driven by service automation, moving low value offshore, evolving resources and project management and process re-engineering.

• References reported some minor issues with the use of standard practices and specifically ITIL. If clients want ITIL to be used, then they need to specify the ITIL requirements and have them included in their contract.
• There were some comments about innovation being one of the areas where Siemens has not been as proactive as it could be. If clients want innovation, then they should address this early and include it in the contract.

• Spherion acquired Technisource at the end of this study and has gained additional capabilities in the help desk area. These combined services will be branded as Technisource going forward.
• The new Technisource organization supports 400,000 end users and handles more than 2.4 million help desk calls per year.
• Spherion's original model delivered its solutions primarily from client sites, but with the Technisource acquisition, it now has five help desk centers and has expanded its capabilities for on-site, off-site and blended solutions.

• Some reference had issues with service-level recourse (penalties), so clients need to ensure that the SLAs have financial recourse (penalties) if the metrics are not met.
• This year, references mention the lack of the introduction of tools to support the client help desk. We suggest the client explores the tools available from Technisource and asks for the appropriate tools.
• Some references had issues about the procedures and methodologies that Technisource uses, so clients must ensure that the proper resources are available for their engagements.

• TechTeam's IT outsourcing revenue for North America grew 11.7% for all of 2007, from $42.2 million to $47.2 million.
• TechTeam supports more than 500,000 desktop users and takes more than 2.5 million North American help desk calls annually.
• TechTeam has programs for the development of quality services in the form of ISO 9001:2004 certification, ITIL-based framework and lean Six Sigma.

• As much as TechTeam emphasizes ITIL practices, references continue to report some issues with standardized practices used to deliver the help desk. Because these were random comments, we suggest that clients ensure that TechTeam uses the ITIL practices to delivery standard solutions in their deals.
• Other reference comments noted issues with management and resources provided. Clients should have a process to review the management team and resources provided and these should be included in their contracts.

• Worldwide, Unisys supports approximately 1.6 million seats handling 7.5 million calls. About 53% of the seats managed are in North America.
• Unisys is focused on the Unisys Top 500 sales account, supplemented with a multichannel sales team and through the use of partners and third-party intermediaries. They are concentrating with financial, commercial & industries (including communications, transportation and consumer products and life sciences) and government sectors.
• Unisys is leveraging a delivery model that emphasizes efficient, globally standardized processes and a geographically optimized, low-cost workforce.

• There is a question of financial stability based on recent returns, and clients should ensure that Unisys addresses its financial commitment to the help desk and PC outsourcing service offerings and that clients have the contractual option to terminate deals based on lack of delivery of services or change of business. Note that the Unisys financial report for the last quarter showed a significant improvement year over year.
• Some references noted issues with innovation and relationship management. Clients should have good relationship management process in place and address innovation early and include it in their contracts.