Guaranteed Performance Levels, Knowledge Transfer Capabilities and Technical Proficiency Valued Most in Professional Services, Says New ITSMA Study

Newest ITSMA study shows despite economic pressures, clients will choose professional services based on a firm's capabilities rather than low cost

LEXINGTON, Mass.—June 18, 2002—When senior executives evaluate IT professional services firms, they look for evidence of the firm's ability to deliver performance and value rather than low price, despite current pressures to cut costs. According to a study issued today by ITSMA, the most important vendor selection criteria are guaranteed service levels, knowledge transfer capability and technical expertise. ITSMA's new study, Professional Services and Solutions: Market Positioning and Brand Awareness Study, outlines key findings from interviews with more than 400 senior decision makers from Fortune 1000 companies, government entities, and health care institutions.

The results of this study clearly show that in the challenging economy, with pressure on IT budgets, potential clients are most concerned with undertaking implementations that provide measurable benefits with minimal risk. In this environment, ITSMA, a global advisor to companies that market and sell technology services and solutions, provides this market positioning and brand awareness study to companies that need to know how the buyers in different industries value professional services firms, as well as how they perceive specific companies.

"The value of a strong brand has become clearer since the economic downturn. Buyers are more skeptical of service provider capabilities, and brand strength—even as new brands such as Accenture and Monday are emerging in the market—is a critical factor in generating consideration and preference," said Lori Weiner, ITSMA's director of research. "In this climate of risk-aversion, professional services providers need to understand the attributes that are most important to clients and emphasize the brand characteristics that are most relevant to the target client base."

The study includes awareness, favorability and comparative positioning of professional services firms. Senior decision makers were most familiar with IBM Global Services and Accenture—the leaders in unaided brand awareness among IT professional services providers—while Hewlett-Packard, IBM Global Services and Sun Microsystems were tops in overall favorability.

Study Methodology
From December 2001 through February 2002, ITSMA interviewed 400 senior-level US-based decision makers from companies with revenues that exceeded $200 million and from government organizations. The study respondents, both IT and business executives, represent nine major industries: communications; discrete manufacturing; energy; financial services; government; health care providers; process manufacturing; retail; transportation.

The study also features detailed findings on:

• Unaided and aided awareness of competitors in each vertical market;
• Favorability and preference for doing business with competitors;
• Gap analysis between competitors;
• Comparative positioning of services firms;
• Ranking of key attributes in selecting services firms;
• Comparison of the strength of competitors' attributes;
• Key players in the decision process;
• Business drivers behind selecting professional services;
• Firm-specific positioning across vertical markets; and
• Advertising recall for specific firms.

Companies Covered
Companies covered in the study include Accenture; Andersen; AT Kearney; Cap Gemini Ernst & Young; Cambridge Technology Partners; Cisco; Compaq; CSC; DiamondCluster International; Dell; EDS; Hewlett-Packard; IBM Global Services; Gartner; KPMG Consulting; Maxim; Microsoft; Novell; Oracle; PricewaterhouseCoopers; Sapient; Siemens; Sun Microsystems; Superior Consulting; Tek Systems; Unisys.

For further information on this study, please visit http://www.itsma.com/research/abstracts/bps0003.htm.

About ITSMA
ITSMA specializes in helping companies market and sell services and solutions more effectively. As a membership organization, we work with the world's leading technology, communications, and professional services providers to generate increased demand, strengthen customer relationships, and improve brand differentiation. ITSMA members include business leaders such as Accenture, BT, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, SAP, and Tata Consultancy Services, among others. Our comprehensive research, consulting, and training on topics including ITSMA Account-Based Marketing ^SM, Brand Positioning, and Solutions Development provide the insight and experience companies need to improve business results. ITSMA is based near Boston, and has offices in London and Tokyo. Learn more at www.itsma.com.