The desktop outsourcing revenue of service providers in Europe increased by 3% overall in 2009. Considering that prices in this market dropped by 11% during the same period, Gartner attributes the increase to many companies outsourcing their desktops or revising the scope of their service provider relationships. As this trend continues, with more organizations looking to incorporate desktop outsourcing as part of their sourcing strategies,¹ organizations will need to understand the vision and strategies of vendors in Europe's market for desktop outsourcing services.

Gartner's rigorous and multidimensional Magic Quadrant research process² includes evaluation criteria that provide a comprehensive framework with which we analyzed the ability of 13 providers to deliver desktop outsourcing services across Europe (see Figure 1).

Desktop outsourcing is a mature sourcing option in Europe. Although most organizations are generally satisfied with these services, the average satisfaction scores of Gartner clients and service providers' reference customers in this Magic Quadrant have dropped slightly, from 72.6% to 71.7%. The tendency of client organizations to contract desktop services together with help desk outsourcing services will grow as end users in organizations become more familiar with IT and skilled at using it.

The desktop outsourcing market is undergoing significant transformation. The increasing maturity of technologies such as virtualization and automation, the number of global delivery opportunities from low-cost countries, and the industrialization of IT services and cloud computing are driving change. These macro-influences are leading service providers to develop new and to change existing desktop outsourcing offerings.

When developing desktop outsourcing offerings, service providers are focusing on five trends:

• More technologically savvy end users: End users are more sophisticated in their use of IT than ever before. They increasingly use social networking technologies outside business hours and combine their personal and business IT usage. As a result, they continue to demand more efficient desktops and devices that they can control.

• Increased virtualization: End-user demand is leading service providers to continue to invest in developing virtualized solutions for user-owned devices, desktops and applications, so that client organizations can empower and involve users in their desktop services projects, while also protecting corporate data and applications.

• Higher levels of automation: Providers are also increasingly investing in automating their back-end infrastructure to provide various options for diagnostic and data backup and restore functions. In addition, the automation of resource provisioning from order to delivery is one way in which providers are improving process efficiency.

• Innovative cloud applications: Service providers are delivering highly standardized public and private cloud offerings directly or in partnership with other cloud service providers, such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft, to achieve higher efficiency for large organizations and to reach small, midsize and large enterprises more effectively.

• Value-added service bundling to avoid further commoditization: Providers are looking for new ways to differentiate the technology they use in their desktop outsourcing offerings. For example, some providers are now adding tax and legal consulting to their user-owned-device offerings, while others have developed a total cost of ownership (TCO) model that enables organizations to understand the true cost of using user-owned devices in an outsourced desktop environment.

The IT service providers in this Magic Quadrant generate a combined turnover of $6.2 billion in desktop outsourcing services in Europe. These 13 providers manage more than 12 million desktop users, which span all European countries.

The average desktop service provider in this Magic Quadrant records about $480 million from this service line, and directly manages more than 1,200,000 users. They vary significantly in size, staff, client numbers and geographical coverage. In addition, the size of these providers' clients varies significantly, ranging from a minimum of 400 users per average client to a maximum of 16,800 users per average client. Their approach to desktop outsourcing also differs. For example, thin clients account for about 1% to 13% (average 5%) of these providers' installed base of desktops. We expect this percentage to increase further in the near future as organizations increasingly adopt virtualized desktop offerings in Europe.

Buyers may find additional, viable IT service provider options for their investments in desktop hardware in Europe that we have not evaluated in this Magic Quadrant. Providers that did not meet Gartner's qualitative and quantitative criteria (listed below) were excluded from this Magic Quadrant. These providers include Capgemini, Atea, Sopra, Wincor Nixdorf and Steria, as well as offshore providers such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Wipro.

For the scope of this Magic Quadrant, Gartner defines Europe as the combination of Eastern and Western Europe.

For the scope of this Magic Quadrant, Gartner's definition of Western Europe includes Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K.

For the scope of this Magic Quadrant, Gartner's definition of Eastern Europe includes Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey and Ukraine.

We subdivide Western Europe into the following subregions:

• Northwest: Ireland and the U.K.

• Northeast: Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

• Central West: Belgium, France and the Netherlands.

• Central East: Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

• South: Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

IT outsourcing can include a portfolio of product support and professional services that provide the IT infrastructure and enterprise application services needed to help ensure the success of the client's mission. Outsourcing always includes some IT management services, and IT outsourcing is further segmented into data center, desktop, network and enterprise application outsourcing.

Desktop outsourcing services include services related to desktop computers, servers, the underlying network infrastructure, the processes and the organization. They generally include:

• Asset procurement and financial management.

• Desktop services backup and recovery processes.

• First-level application support services.

• Hardware break/fix.

• Hardware standards establishment.

• Installations, moves, adds, changes and disposal services.

• IT asset inventory maintenance and process controls.

• LAN/WAN support services (where applicable).

• On-site hardware support services.

• Print and output management.

• Patch fixes, updates and management.

• Remote server support services (for example, for file and print, e-mail and terminal servers).

• Shrink-wrapped software support services.

We asked each service provider included in this Magic Quadrant to declare that it satisfies certain criteria. Each service provider had to:

• Demonstrate that it provides desktop outsourcing services as a core business offering with limited subcontracting. In other words, each provider needed to use internal resources (not subcontracted resources) to deliver at least 50% of its desktop services.

• Deliver desktop outsourcing services to clients based in at least three of the European regions listed in the market definition/description.

• Show that it did not generate more than 7% of its total European desktop outsourcing revenue from clients based in a single country.

• Generate at least 10% of its total European desktop outsourcing revenue in at least three European countries, each of which are in different regions. For example, a provider generating 65% of its desktop outsourcing revenue in Germany, 18% in the U.K. and 12% in Spain would qualify for the study.

• Generate at least €30 million in annual desktop outsourcing revenue in Europe.

We have added three vendors this year:

• Dell.

• HCL Technologies.

• Getronics/Getronics Workspace Alliance (GWA).

GWA is a global alliance of seven partners that deliver desktop outsourcing services. The seven partners are APX, CompuCom, Getronics, Getronics Middle East, NTT Data Getronics, ServiceOne Getronics and TecnoCom.

We have not dropped any vendors this year.

Gartner evaluated these providers on the quality and efficacy of the processes, systems, methods and procedures that enabled each provider's performance to be competitive and effective, while positively affecting revenue, retention and reputation. We also judged providers on their ability to and success in capitalizing on their vision, as well as their European footholds on resources, coverage and seamless delivery in different countries to meet clients' requirements. In addition, we factored feedback from client interviews into this evaluation.

Product/Service: This category, which we weighted "standard," evaluated each provider's service delivery capabilities and the services it offers. We gave special consideration to service definition and capabilities, effective resourcing and transaction management. The subcategories for our study were:

• Overall Western European desktop outsourcing revenue, client numbers and number of staff allocated.

• Desktop outsourcing delivery capabilities, sites, countries, languages and technologies.

• Number of end users, devices, applications and users supported.

• Management team and position in the corporate structure (we required providers to supply an organization chart).

• Core and ancillary IT outsourcing services.

• Standard desktop outsourcing services — packages with standard service levels that providers can offer and sell to many clients.

• Procedures for managing service-level agreements (SLAs), such as penalties and incentives tied to SLAs.

• Resource and transition management that focuses on the provider's ability to provide relevant resources for customers.

Overall Viability: This category, which we weighted "high," assessed the overall financial health of the service provider, the financial success of desktop outsourcing operations, and the likelihood that the individual desktop outsourcing business unit will continue to invest to support state-of-the-art delivery within the organization's portfolio of products.

We also considered the growth of volumes/units and revenue in the service provider's desktop outsourcing segment during the past three years, and the future outlook of this segment of the service provider's business. In particular, we evaluated whether revenue and margins were likely to grow, decline or remain stable.

Sales Execution and Pricing: This category, which we weighted "high," evaluated each provider's capabilities in all presales activities and the structure that supports them. In particular, we considered the team in charge of deal management, pricing and clarity of scope. The two subcategories that we reviewed in this section were contract/deal structure and pricing.

In the contract/deal structure subcategory, we assessed the management of various contracts, and how the relationship is structured to meet the needs of both parties. For the pricing subcategory, we evaluated each provider's ability to manage prices and reduce costs (through new offerings, improved productivity, management tools, higher quality, resource allocation and staff reductions).

We also asked clients for feedback from a negotiation and pricing perspective.

Market Responsiveness and Track Record: This category, which we weighted "standard," assessed the providers' ability to respond, change direction, be flexible and achieve competitive success as opportunities develop, competitors act, customers' needs evolve and market dynamics change.

We considered how providers detect and react to global or local market changes, and how much of the negotiation power is local, as opposed to centralized in Europe or abroad. We evaluated how the providers measure the effectiveness of their sales and business development teams, and how many desktop outsourcing RFPs or deal requests they had received during the previous 12 months in Europe.

Client innovation and the ability of the provider to meet client needs were important criteria in this section. We asked for examples of innovation that service providers had brought to client engagements or to the market. We asked clients for their feedback about the providers' capability for flexibility and innovation.

Marketing Execution: This category, which we weighted "low," assessed the clarity, quality, creativity and efficacy of programs designed to deliver the providers' messages and influence the market, promote the brand and business, and increase awareness of services. These programs also aim to create a positive association for the services/brands in the minds of buyers.

We considered how providers evaluate and measure "mind share" — consumer awareness or popularity — of desktop outsourcing services in Europe and increase their mind share through publicity, promotions, thought leadership, word-of-mouth and sales activities.

Customer Experience: This category, which we weighted "high," asked each provider for five European references for desktop outsourcing services. We expected the references to follow the geographic distribution that was required to participate in the study and the different vertical industries that were addressed. We also asked about customer satisfaction, the degree of automation and industrialization, and any other relevant changes during the past 12 months. We factored in overall customer satisfaction with the service and the relationship, based on the references and other Gartner client interactions.

We also considered the important elements that create a successful customer experience, and how service providers manage and measure these elements for each account. We assessed continuous improvement processes, both centrally and in the account management team.

Operations: This category, which we weighted "high," assessed each provider's ability to meet its financial and operational goals and commitments, while satisfying contractual obligations for service delivery to clients. Factors include the quality of the organizational structure, skills, experiences, programs, systems and other areas, such as human capital management plans, that enable the organization to operate effectively and efficiently on an ongoing basis.

We also considered formal communication processes, quality control and quality assurance processes, customer satisfaction measurements, service-level results, problems and incidents, and continuous improvement procedures. Providers were asked to describe the roles of relationship, contract and service delivery management in day-to-day deliveries, methodologies and the operational/tools expertise they offer customers.

We evaluated the principal platforms, technologies, architectures and applications that the provider can manage in desktop outsourcing engagements, and how the provider drives and executes consolidation and standardization decisions. We asked how many desktop outsourcing delivery entities are dedicated to clients, as opposed to open to all clients. We also assessed providers' global delivery models. See Table 1.

Gartner evaluates service providers on their ability to convincingly articulate logical statements about their current and future market directions, innovation, customer needs and competitive forces. We also assess how well these providers' visions match Gartner's position. Ultimately, the Magic Quadrant rates providers on how well they understand the market forces that they can exploit to create opportunities.

Market Understanding: This category, which we weighted "high," assessed each provider's strategic plan and vision as they relate to the desktop outsourcing service market in Europe, and the provider's commitment to aligning its services to future market needs. We evaluated how each provider is trying to address the main requirements of European clients, and how the provider differentiates its strategic vision from those of its competitors.

We also considered the provider's ability to demonstrate a well-defined and articulated vision that helps clients link desktop outsourcing services to their business and technology strategies.

Marketing Strategy: This category, which we weighted "low," looked at each provider's main strategy and approach to marketing IT desktop outsourcing services in Europe.

We considered the current and future value proposition for desktop outsourcing services, and the importance of these services in the provider's broader IT services portfolio. We assessed each provider's go-to-market strategy, including its ability to articulate its value proposition and differentiate its services.

Sales Strategy: This category, which we weighted "standard," asked each provider to illustrate its overall sales strategy and its ability to sell desktop outsourcing services.

We considered each provider's methods of measuring sales effectiveness and its organizational setup in support of sales and marketing strategy.

Offering (Product) Strategy: For this category, which we weighted "high," we asked each provider to specify the most important aspects of the service offering that differentiate the provider and offer value to clients.

We considered the practice area and evaluated its relative size, revenue, number of supported users and devices, geographic reach, management team leadership, and the team's position in the corporate structure. We also assessed each provider's operational/tool expertise.

Business Model: This category, which we weighted "high," asked each provider for a high-level description of its desktop outsourcing service business model, and how this fits into its whole business model. We considered each provider's ability to address and satisfy two competing requirements: methodologies and management acumen.

Regarding methodologies, we evaluated offerings based on their comparability to industry standards, such as the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL). We also looked at how the methodologies providers use are linked to or embedded in larger methodologies. We reviewed procedures provided to customers (for example, operational, transitional, program management, relationship management and change management procedures). We also assessed the effectiveness of each provider's sourcing management processes, and the quality assurance methods it uses.

Regarding management acumen, we looked into the management structure and experience of management personnel. We evaluated each provider's plans, people and focus on ensuring that deals meet client needs. We also asked clients whether they had access to the appropriate level of management to evaluate the experiences and skill levels of executive management.

Vertical/Industry Strategy: This category, which we weighted "low," assessed each provider's strategy to direct resources, skills and offerings to meet the specific needs of individual market segments, including vertical industries.

We considered each service provider's penetration of different industries for desktop outsourcing services, and its ability to demonstrate expertise in vertical markets and business processes that desktop outsourcing services underpin.

Innovation: This category, which we weighted "high," evaluated each provider's position in the market as a thought leader and an innovator. We also evaluated each provider's leadership and investment to achieve its vision, and to develop innovative strategies in the desktop outsourcing market.

We considered each service provider's answers to these questions:

• What investment is your company making to sustain and enhance its vision for innovative desktop outsourcing services?

• How do you offer innovation to your established and new customers?

• What innovative solution have you provided to customers during the past 12 months in this area?

• What global alliances do you have with other leading suppliers (with proven investments)?

• Do you offer highly standardized services (a utility-based offering), processes and SLAs, utility pricing units, reduced baselines and increased flexibility?

We asked referenced clients to determine how they judged their provider's ability to innovate, including technical aspects, proactive approaches, adaptability, service flexibility, and the ability to lower costs and improve the service.

Geographic Strategy: This category, which we weighted "standard," looked at regional capabilities, global consolidation processes, local alliances and partnerships, including each provider's:

• Strategy to target different European markets with the appropriate resources, skills and offerings to meet specific client needs.

• Infrastructure consolidation processes and how these are affecting the market.

• Relationships with product and service providers that add value and provide full-service solutions, or that make innovation a more likely reality for their clients.

• Ability and tendency to take responsibility for managing the service delivered, even when using subcontractors or partners.

We asked clients for their feedback on local capabilities as well as the current or potential effects of consolidation and global delivery processes. See Table 2.

Leaders are performing skillfully. They have a clear vision of the market's direction and are developing competencies to maintain their leadership. They shape, rather than follow, the market.

The Leaders are (in alphabetical order):

• Atos Origin.

• CSC.

• Fujitsu.

• HP.

• IBM.

Challengers execute well today, but have a less defined view of the market's direction. They need to be more aggressive in outlining and communicating their strategies for the future.

The Challengers are (in alphabetical order):

• Siemens IT Solutions and Services (SIS).

• T-Systems.

Visionaries have a clear vision of the market's direction and are focused on providing services to meet future market needs. They need to improve their ability to deliver and penetrate the European market.

The only visionary in this Magic Quadrant is:

• Getronics/GWA.

Niche Players focus successfully on a particular service or a limited number of European markets, or both. This narrow focus may affect their ability to outperform or innovate.

The Niche Players are (in alphabetical order):

• Computacenter.

• Dell.

• HCL Technologies.

• Logica.

• Unisys.

• Atos Origin considers its desktop outsourcing offerings a key part of its portfolio. They range from traditional desktop outsourcing to various private and public cloud-style solutions, such as "Atos in a box," which is based on an environment shared by multiple customers. The provider reports that over 120 organizations already use this solution.

• Atos Origin focuses strongly on key themes such as virtualization and automation. The proportion of virtualized desktops in its portfolio of managed desktops is above the market average. Atos Origin has also developed a fully automated self-service solution for Windows 7 migrations that some of its desktop outsourcing clients are piloting.

• Clients praised Atos Origin for its technical capabilities, good-quality services based on sound methodologies and increasing flexibility within client relationships.

• Atos Origin's desktop outsourcing business had a tough year, although its revenue did grow slightly. This will force the provider to align its restructuring efforts and improvement programs more closely to market dynamics.

• Atos Origin's presence in the European market is not as widespread as some of its competitors. This could affect its ability to compete for the Pan-European deals that it needs to support its ambitions for growth in the desktop outsourcing market.

• Clients reported that Atos Origin could improve the consistency of knowledge levels across its organization, and develop and deliver innovative solutions more rapidly and readily.

• Computacenter's focus on desktop outsourcing services, its technical capabilities and its ability to offer price-competitive services make it a viable provider for an increasing number of clients. It is also a solid delivery partner for other service providers, such as Logica, BT, Tata Consultancy Services and Accenture.

• Computacenter executes a service improvement program that enhances its remote management capabilities, level of automation (for example, in asset procurement) and request management process. Computacenter also addresses the high proportion of on-site costs by using a hardware-swap approach. This results in less time spent on-site as swapping a machine is much faster than repairing it.

• Clients praise Computacenter's quality of service, cost-effective solutions and flexibility to supply services over and above what was contracted.

• Computacenter would benefit from ensuring more consistent business penetration across Europe and improving how it communicates related activities with potential customers in this market. This would help it improve the consistency of the messages it sends to the European market.

• Computacenter appears mostly to deliver virtualization on a client-by-client basis. To increase its share of this part of the desktop outsourcing market, it needs to make these investments standard, industrialized offerings and communicate this to the market.

• Clients would like Computacenter to innovate and optimize costs more proactively, and to improve communication between its onshore and offshore delivery centers.

• CSC's ambition to deliver integrated end-to-end desktop outsourcing services has taken its portfolio beyond its traditional desktop outsourcing services. Its strong portfolio includes virtual desktop, mobility, print, Windows 7 migration and collaboration services.

• CSC continues to evolve its desktop services through its sound understanding of the market and its direction, as well as its grouping of the changing needs of users and organizations into business, experience, device and role-based work styles.

• Clients praised CSC for its strong orientation toward them, solid local presence, sound knowledge and supportive attitude.

• Although CSC's focus on evolving its desktop outsourcing portfolio is sound, the company would benefit from rolling out its portfolio enhancements more rapidly across its client base. The proportion of its managed desktops that are virtualized is increasing, but still below average, which indicates this need.

• CSC could improve its penetration of the European market. More consistent availability and implementation of the new elements of its portfolio across Europe could help it grow again after a year of almost flat revenue.

• Clients mentioned that CSC could improve the consistency of the availability of its skills and business knowledge across all locations, its proactive attitude and its integration of subcontracted work.

• Although Dell's desktop outsourcing business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa has only a small share of the company's total business, the acquisition of Perot Systems in 2009 provided additional service capabilities and up-selling opportunities both for established clients and clients gained via the acquisition.

• Dell has increased its focus on desktop outsourcing and invests in virtualization, "green" IT and automation of its back-end services. However, these investments need to culminate in a standardized offering before they can generate significant business with European clients.

• Clients welcome Dell's in-depth understanding of customers, flexibility to adapt to customer needs, product quality and technical knowledge.

• Dell only recently launched a marketing campaign to change its image from a hardware manufacturer with break/fix services into a desktop outsourcer with global capabilities, including the ability to service hardware from multiple vendors.

• Dell is still small compared to its competitors in the European desktop outsourcing market. The ongoing Perot Systems integration effort and the challenge that former partners have become competitors require Dell to prove its ability to take European clients from product support into industrialized offerings without lowering service levels and reducing customer satisfaction.

• Clients pointed out that Dell could improve its deal pricing, its ability to integrate delivery partners seamlessly into its delivery processes, and the consistency of its skills and service quality.

• Fujitsu has a strong foothold in many European countries. Solid partnerships — with S&T in Eastern Europe, for example — complement Fujitsu's efforts to become a strong European player. Such efforts include acquiring Siemens' share of Fujitsu Siemens Computers in 2009, which helped Fujitsu strengthen its position in Germany and continental Europe.

• Fujitsu focuses on accelerating its industrialized service offering, standardizing and virtualizing its solutions, and continuing to invest in green desktop offerings such as the Zero Client. This provider promotes a role-based offering and improved global coordination and management of desktop outsourcing deals.

• Fujitsu's clients in Europe value its orientation toward customers, and its reliability when fulfilling SLAs and desktop support processes, including remote support.

• Although Fujitsu could up-sell a significant number of break/fix services when selling higher-level desktop outsourcing services, this would generate revenue with lower margins. As a result, Fujitsu needs to balance its product offerings with solutions and services.

• Fujitsu needs to continue to build its global desktop outsourcing portfolio, which it has recently redefined. This requires Fujitsu to improve its ability to identify the right opportunities and optimize its win rate to gain large multinational deals.

• Clients would like Fujitsu to make its resources more consistently available in order to avoid challenges such as delays in resolving issues and completing technical projects. Clients also want Fujitsu to innovate services and technology more proactively.

• Getronics/GWA has developed a sound understanding of how end users' and organizations' needs are evolving in the desktop outsourcing market. Based on a set of common ITIL v.3-based processes, the alliance's desktop outsourcing offerings offer a role-based approach and use highly standardized offerings.

• In a market that involves subcontracted desk-side support to a large extent, a structured alliance of strong local desktop outsourcing companies is a good way to solve the problem of coordinating subcontractors. This alliance could create a new service delivery model if it keeps overheads low and its model efficient, lean and very cost-competitive, while remaining collaborative.

• Clients praised Getronics/GWA for a high degree of client focus and care, strong local presence, good technical capabilities and ability to adapt to their needs.

• Likely market consolidation during the next few years could challenge the long-term stability of Getronics/GWA. The alliance's current strategic alignment would then become predominantly tactical and situational, like many other provider alliances and partnerships.

• The GWA's medium- and long-term success will largely depend on the ability of its members to invest significantly in the creation and delivery of joint industrialized offerings. Currently, however, Getronics is funding most of this type of investment while under pressure from KPN to improve its financial performance. The alliance's success will also require sound methods to assess and select opportunities, as well as solid, joint and proactive go-to-market processes.

• Clients mentioned that Getronics/GWA could improve client relationships by developing its knowledge about their businesses, managing skills and resources more effectively, and enhancing its communications and documentation. Clients also pointed out that this provider could improve its coverage in Europe, particularly in the Nordic countries, Italy and Austria.

• HCL is the first India-based player to qualify for inclusion in this Magic Quadrant. The provider reports that it uses a network of internal engineers and delivery partners across Europe to deliver 65% and 35% of its services respectively. HCL also maintains strategic partnerships with Microsoft for the Business Productivity Online Standard Suite (BPOS) and with Xerox for managed print services.

• HCL continues to invest in desktop virtualization, automation and remote infrastructure management capabilities to strengthen the cost-efficiency of its desktop outsourcing solutions. HCL has based these investments on a good understanding of the European market and its experience with large and small clients, which could result in fast growth.

• Clients praised HCL's flexibility to adapt to changing client needs, its knowledge and use of application skills, and the quality of its global support processes.

• Despite some highly visible deals, HCL remains a small player in Europe's desktop outsourcing market. Although HCL reports that it has enough resources to meet our admission criteria, its delivery model mostly employs partners or subcontractors to fulfill local service delivery requirements. Potential clients still need to see proof that this model has been reliable for a substantial number of deals in Europe, as client feedback about it has been mixed.

• Despite HCL's investment in virtualization, its clients have not yet strongly increased their adoption of virtual desktops. If HCL succeeds in accelerating this adoption, it could take advantage of its strong offshore capabilities to a larger extent.

• Clients would like HCL to deliver technical and service innovation more proactively to reduce overheads for those needing to manage the services it delivers.

• HP is a strong player in the European market. Its standardized desktop outsourcing portfolio is broad, and its ability to control the underlying technology enables it to support evolution toward new architectures.

• A globally consistent portfolio, a strong worldwide delivery network, solid ITIL-based delivery processes, and extensive experience of working with large international outsourced clients make HP a credible player for companies that want to outsource their desktop environments and have global requirements.

• Clients attribute HP's deep and broad technical skills, as well as the availability of standardized services, to its comprehensive desktop outsourcing portfolio and ability to meet specific needs.

• Following the economic crisis of 2008 and 2009 and the completion of its integration of EDS, HP needs to demonstrate that it has implemented structures and processes to restore high customer satisfaction and enable sustainable growth, so that it can maintain a leading position in this market.

• HP's marketing campaign mostly targets large organizations, but it would benefit from revitalizing its image as a solution and service provider for midsize organizations. HP's focus on standard solutions, and the many smaller deals it is engaged in, make it appealing for organizations of that size.

• Clients mentioned that HP could improve the availability and continuity of resources within account teams, its overall flexibility and its innovation capabilities, which appear reactive.

• IBM is a strong desktop outsourcing provider in Europe. It maintains excellent technical skills, which enable it continuously to meet customer demand and improve customer satisfaction. Its footprint in Europe is also well established, and its portfolio of IT services is broad and deep.

• IBM focuses on key themes, such as desktop clouds (a standard offering based on desktop virtualization), automation (low-touch provisioning), and enhancing its remote management capabilities and frameworks.

• Clients praised the quality of IBM's service and support processes, its local and global technical skills, and the continuity of its account staff.

• With its shared pool of tools, infrastructure and resources, as well as flexible SLAs, IBM's standard desktop services solution can meet the needs of small and large organizations. Nevertheless, IBM must improve its customer satisfaction if it is to retain key customers.

• IBM's ability to compete for midsize deals with shorter deal terms is limited, compared to its ability to win larger deals that have transformational components, as IBM lacks visibility as a strong player in this segment of the market. This might pose a challenge for the company as the market for smaller engagements grows, unless it evolves its deal management structures to support and enable efficiency in smaller engagements.

• Clients would like IBM to manage problems and innovate technology and services more proactively, improve its ability to communicate consistently across the globe, and simplify its processes so that clients can more easily access its global skills.

• Logica's desktop outsourcing portfolio complements its broad set of IT services. Despite the economic crisis, Logica grew its desktop outsourcing business during 2009. It used desktop services to enter new markets and continuously invested in self-service and remote management programs to improve its capabilities.

• Logica's investments in virtualization have had positive results, with the provider reporting an increasing number of thin clients. Logica also applies its virtualization solutions to the needs of particular industries, such as healthcare, and uses its virtualized desktop solution to deliver application services more efficiently.

• Clients praised Logica for its stable services, high degree of responsiveness and flexibility to adapt services to their requirements.

• Logica's desktop outsourcing offerings target enterprise clients. Its cloud efforts focus on creating a shared service backbone for enterprise clients, as opposed to creating a public cloud offering. Logica needs to clarify how it can help clients take advantage of public desktop cloud offerings and capitalize on its partnership with Microsoft for BPOS.

• Logica's footprint in Europe is improving but is still limited compared to many of its competitors. Despite growth in Logica's partner network, the provider needs to apply a more consistent go-to-market approach in order to win more Pan-European deals.

• Clients mentioned that Logica could more proactively innovate and improve services and asset management, and improve the global reach and consistency of its service processes and skills.

• SIS has a sound understanding of the desktop outsourcing market in Europe and is making solid investments in new solutions, such as hybrid desktop services (incorporating public cloud services with traditional services) and user-owned devices (beyond technology, including consultancy for tax and legal issues).

• SIS is focusing on improving its remote management capabilities to improve the efficiency and performance of its desktop solutions. For example, the provider has turned the idea of "$10 desktop services" into a reality with its new €9.90 offering.

• Clients value SIS's solid services, processes and tools, strong relationship and governance skills, and overall technical capability.

• SIS needs to carefully manage its separation from Siemens and related internal restructuring, so that it improves its customer satisfaction and remains focused on investment and innovation efforts in the desktop outsourcing market, where the needs of organizations and end users are changing rapidly.

• Although SIS focuses on key markets, such as Germany, Eastern Europe, the U.K., Italy and Benelux, its penetration of the European market remains patchy. Clarifying its strategy and direction when communicating with markets across Europe could help it strengthen its foothold in the region.

• Clients would like SIS to focus more strongly on customer satisfaction, use the same tools and processes worldwide, and improve its subcontractor management processes.

• IT industrialization is a key and proven part of T-Systems' desktop outsourcing strategy. Clients frequently report that they are evaluating the provider's standardized model. The model is based on three roles and includes end-to-end service levels, automated customer identity management and standard pricing.

• T-Systems' portfolio of desktop services complements its sound portfolio of information and communication technology. The portfolio focuses on key themes, such as virtualization, self-healing, self-service automation (for example, a new software distribution model) and user-owned devices.

• Clients praised T-Systems for its solid portfolio of services, appropriate degree of standardization, fast support and customer-focused behavior.

• Despite T-Systems' sound focus on key desktop themes, the provider's outsourced desktop services need to reach "critical mass" soon in order to recover investments. Although solutions arising from these investments (for example, a role-based model and user-owned devices) could enable growth, they might also cannibalize revenue that T-Systems generates from more expensive traditional desktop solutions.

• T-Systems' penetration of Europe is still limited, compared to its competitors. Although T-Systems is strong in Germany, it must penetrate further into other European country markets, via acquisitions or organic growth, in order to win more multinational desktop outsourcing deals.

• Clients mentioned that T-Systems could improve its end-to-end view of support processes by integrating communications and documentation better, aligning innovation capabilities to customers' business requirements, and exercising a greater degree of flexibility.

• With years of experience in field service delivery, Unisys maintains a good network of worldwide support engineers, who deliver services to Unisys clients and to clients of various partners that use its strong logistics chain.

• Unisys views its desktop services as a core offering and continuously invests in desktop virtualization and unified communications to enhance its portfolio. The provider's customer satisfaction improvement program is also delivering positive results.

• Clients value this provider's flexibility, solid local presence and customer service-oriented attitude. They also identified the knowledge of support staff and the quality of service as key strengths.

• Despite its strengths, Unisys is a relatively small desktop outsourcing provider. It would benefit from a larger client base in Western Europe so that it could demonstrate its capability as a delivery partner in an increasing number of international deals. This would help it grow its business again.

• Although this provider's new portfolio addresses the right themes and the market's needs, it needs to roll out solutions faster to support the need for growth and strengthen its standing as a viable alternative in multinational desktop outsourcing deals.

• Clients would like Unisys to develop and supply innovative services, manage usage peaks better and reduce overheads. They would also like it to apply a more disciplined and consistent approach to standardization and the development of skills across countries and accounts.