By Joe Skorupa
CIOs have many sleepless nights trying to figure out where the future is headed. There is revolution in the air around the globe that is upending cultures, economics and pillars of society. How is a CIO supposed to keep pace with these tectonic shifts and technology, too? For many, the answer is a trusted IT services provider. Here are the top 10 working today in retailing.
To find out which IT services providers retailers rely on we assembled a list 24 firms that included large horizontal global companies, small boutique shops that focus on retailing, and services divisions of major tech vendors. Then we asked 112 major chain retailers which IT services providers they seek when they need strategic insights into their long-term plans?
The answer to this question produced the top-10 shown below, which is a part of the 2011 RIS/Gartner Retail Tech Trends Study, which you can download for free by
clicking here.
1. IBM
2. Microsoft
3. Cisco Systems
4. Oracle
5. HP
6. AT&T
7. Accenture
8. JDA
9. Kurt Salmon
10. SAP
The top four companies are repeats from last year in the same exact order. And of these, IBM and Microsoft have commanding leads on the list over their nearest competitors.
Two newcomers this year are HP, which makes a leap all the way up to number five, and Kurt Salmon.
Over the past two years, HP has focused more directly on the retail vertical as opposed to taking a more familiar horizontal approach to technology and industries. This is especially true this year and the high ranking on this top-10 list indicates HP’s efforts are starting to pay off.
Other findings from the study
The top two activities that retailers use third-party providers for are: 1. IT consulting (58.2%) and 2. Website development, maintenance and hosting (54.5%). These activities have remained at the top of the list for the past few years.
But there is interesting movement a little further down the list, notably in mobility (36.4%) and social media initiatives (36.4%). These are fast-emerging channels that require unique skills that retailers do not possess in-house. As a result, retailers are beginning to turn to IT service provides to fill in the gaps.
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