Globally, financial institutions are investing an estimated $334bn in IT hardware, software, specialised resources, and external services in 2003. Almost $119bn – over one-third of the total spending – is being entrusted to external parties. The inset pie chart highlights three significant IT components that integrate this amount:
software, including external developments and packages;
professional services, such as IT consulting, systems integration, and training;
outsourcing services, covering a wide range of traditional service bureaus, application service providers, facilities management, and web hosting arrangements.
Adding to the respectable size of IT spending in external providers, business process outsourcing represents an emerging trend. This brings up a further opportunity to employ third parties to transform parts of the IT and process capabilities. Such transformation includes an end-to-end recombination of business functions encompassing the supporting people, processes, hardware, software, and network resources.
