New research from business advisory firm unveils the top three service providers for the year.

Equaterra has published its annual ‘Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO) Service Provider Performance and Satisfaction Study’, revealing a list of the best (and worst) performing outsourcing service providers over the past 12 months as voted for by some of the top UK organisations.

The study also revealed the ongoing difficult economic climate is driving growth in outsourcing, as companies look to do more with less. It’s a trend Equaterra expects to continue into 2010, as UK organisations look to build on the traction of economic recovery.

Sitting at the top of the list for 2009 according to the customer satisfaction survey are Capgemini (79%), Cognizant (79%) and Computacenter (78%). According to the results, all three shared two particular traits: “a strong desire to deliver a very focused portfolio of services and, in particular, successfully developing an internal culture which empowers their staff to proactively engage with clients to develop innovative solutions.” Bottom of the table was reserved for HP/EDS (59%), Verizon Business (58%) and CSC (51%), though Equaterra added client satisfaction rose across the board for all performance indicators.

The study also revealed that European IT outsourcing service providers improved their satisfaction scores at greater levels than most Indian-based service providers.

Twelve months ago, the top five rated service providers for customer satisfaction included four Indian and only one European provider. In this year’s survey, four of the top five rated providers are European, while just one is Indian.

One provider making strides up the satisfaction ladder is Getronics, which has been listed in the top 10 for this year. The company has made steady progress over the past two years, receiving a customer satisfaction score of 70% in 2009. Dave Baldwin, managing director, Getronics UK and Ireland said: Over the last 12 months, we have been working hard to improve customer satisfaction levels and ensure we meet our service level agreements. We’ve made some excellent progress and are very pleased to gain external recognition for our achievements and make it into the top ten in this year’s Equaterra survey.

Lee Ayling, EquaTerra’s Managing Director, IT Advisory, UK commented, “Given the strong emphasis on cost cutting this year, the ability of service providers to deliver high quality, innovative and flexible services at a lower cost is a positive sign for the outsourcing market and its ongoing growth.”

Martyn Hart, Chairman of the National Outsourcing Association, added, “The shift identified in this study is symptomatic of the changing nature of outsourcing relationships. End users are now looking for IT partners that will advise, push back with ideas and innovate. As IT continues to become more central to businesses operation, those suppliers that can offer a higher-value service will see increasing success.”