Fifty-nine percent of IT executives would prefer to be able to rely on their IT staffing firms for statement-of-work (SOW) services, according to a survey by TEKsystems and the Inavero Institute. However, the poll found only 37 percent would purchase SOW services from a provider that currently only supplies contingent IT workers.

"The conflicting statistics suggest that many IT leaders are either unaware of the range of capabilities available from their current IT staffing partners or they lack confidence in their partners' abilities to assume more risk and responsibility," said TEKsystems Director Rachel Russell.

To investigate what could be driving hesitation toward relying on staffing providers for more outcome-based work, respondents were asked to identify the top two weaknesses of staffing providers. "Understanding my business and industry," was rated first and "Pricing" second, according to TEKsystems. These same two areas for improvement were identified by IT leaders for all provider types questioned including OEMs, systems integrators and IT outsourcers.

"This finding suggests a fundamental market need," said Russell. "IT leaders are tasked with aligning IT initiatives and the business, so it makes sense that they expect their IT service providers to help them drive that alignment. All IT service provider types -- from IT staffing providers to IT outsourcers -- should seek to improve how they go about building an understanding of their clients' businesses. After all, a solution is only as good as its understanding of the problem at hand. To be true partners to our customers, we take the time to listen to them and stay in tune with the trends and business drivers impacting their IT environments."

The survey questioned 1,000 information technology executives in the U.S. and Canada.