2026 IT Sourcing Study – Switzerland
The 2026 Swiss IT Sourcing Study is the most comprehensive assessment of IT service and cloud platform providers in Switzerland. Based on input from more than 170 of the region’s largest IT-spending organisations, the study evaluates more than 400 unique IT sourcing relationships and over 650 cloud platform relationships.
External IT spending remains resilient.
Nearly one-third of organisations (30%) expect to increase spending on external IT providers over the next two years, up from 27% in 2025, while 32% anticipate no change. At the same time, the share planning to reduce external spending has remained stable at 21%. However, uncertainty is rising: 17% of respondents are unsure how their sourcing strategy will evolve, reflecting economic uncertainty, rapid technological change, and the growing influence of AI.
Flexibility, technology and cost drive outsourcing decisions.
The ability to scale services up or down is the leading driver of increased outsourcing, cited by 61% of organisations. Cost reduction and access to emerging technologies are closely tied (both at 57%), while half (50%) see outsourcing as a way to focus more effectively on core business activities.
Drivers for Outsourcing More
Drivers for Insourcing
Knowledge retention and AI are driving insourcing decisions.
Retaining critical knowledge and expertise is the primary reason organisations plan to reduce their use of external IT providers, cited by 55% of respondents. Almost half (45%) believe advances in AI reduce the need to outsource IT activities, while 42% view insourcing as more financially attractive.
Offshore delivery will continue to grow.
Offshore delivery is the sourcing model most likely to grow, with 50% of organisations planning to increase its use compared with just 8% expecting a reduction. Nearshore delivery is also gaining momentum (36% plan to increase), while almost half of organisations (47%) expect to reduce onshore delivery, signalling a clear shift towards more globally distributed delivery models.
Offshore Delivery Plans
Significant Business Impact of AI
17%
2026
9%
2025
AI adoption continues to mature.
AI is now almost universal across Swiss organisations, with only 1% reporting no use of AI and 34% relying on tools such as ChatGPT and Copilot. The most significant shift is the growing impact of proprietary AI solutions, with the share of organisations reporting significant business benefits rising from 9% in 2025 to 17% in 2026, indicating a move from experimentation to wider operational adoption.
Sovereign IT is reshaping IT strategy.
More than one-third of Swiss organisations (36%) report that Sovereign IT has a medium or large impact on their IT strategy, while only 14% report no impact. Although major strategic changes remain limited (7%), one-third (32%) are still assessing the implications, highlighting Sovereign IT’s growing influence on technology and sourcing decisions.
Impact of Sovereign IT on IT Strategy
Satisfied or Very Satisfied IT Sourcing Relationships
77%
High satisfaction reflects a competitive provider market.
Survey respondents evaluated 412 unique IT sourcing relationships, with 77% rated as satisfied or very satisfied, among the highest levels recorded in Europe in 2026. Competition is intense, and the top 10 providers in general satisfaction are separated by just three percentage points, with EPAM, Wipro, and TCS jointly leading at 83%.
Excessive Focus on Costs
Clients and providers disagree on vendor management priorities.
The largest perception gap concerns organisations’ focus on costs: 77% of service providers believe clients place too much emphasis on cost reduction, compared with 41% of clients. Providers are also more likely to cite poor planning and weak alignment between vendor management and business priorities, highlighting different perspectives on effective IT governance.
Clients expect strategic insight and experienced expertise.
The most frequently cited provider weakness is a lack of challenge and innovation, with 44% of organisations saying providers do not challenge them enough. Concerns around inexperienced resources (27%), insufficient business knowledge (27%), and value for money (25%) suggest organisations increasingly expect providers to combine strategic advice with deep business expertise.
Top 3 Service Provider Weaknesses
IaaS/PaaS
SaaS
Infrastructure cloud outperforms software cloud in customer satisfaction.
Infrastructure cloud platforms continue to outperform software cloud platforms, with an average customer satisfaction score of 73% compared with 68%. AWS retains its position as Switzerland’s highest-rated infrastructure cloud platform provider (80%), while Microsoft Office 365 is the highest-rated software cloud platform provider (77%).
2026 Final Report – Switzerland
Whitelane’s final report offers key insights into IT sourcing and governance trends, featuring rankings of IT service providers across five IT service towers and four key performance indicators (KPIs). It also includes rankings of the leading cloud platform providers for both IaaS/PaaS and SaaS. For more information, contact info(@)whitelane.com
