Despite the rapid development of artificial intelligence, outsourcing IT services remains an important issue for Swiss companies. According to the latest  «IT Sourcing Study Switzerland 2026» by Whitelane Research, 30 percent of the companies surveyed plan to increase the share of IT services they outsource over the next two years. That is slightly more than the 27 percent a year ago.

A further 32 percent expect their outsourcing share to remain unchanged. In total, 62 percent of the companies surveyed therefore expect external IT service providers to remain stable or become increasingly important.

The results are based on a survey of more than 170 executives from Swiss companies with high IT spending. In total, more than 400 business relationships with 22 IT service providers were analysed.

Scalability is the key driver

It is noteworthy that cost savings are not the only priority. For companies looking to expand their collaboration with external IT service providers, the flexible adjustment of IT capacity is particularly important.

Sixty-one percent of these companies cite scalability as the decisive reason for additional outsourcing. A further 57 percent want access to new technologies or aim to reduce costs.

So, alongside financial relief, strategic considerations are increasingly taking centre stage. Companies want to be able to respond to technological change without having to build all the necessary capacity and expertise in-house.

Outsourcing remains relevant for banks as well

These developments are particularly interesting for Switzerland’s financial centre. Banks, insurers and asset managers depend on powerful IT systems while also having to meet high requirements for security, availability and regulatory oversight.

Outsourcing IT services can make access to specialised technologies easier. At the same time, questions around dependence on individual providers, data security and control of business-critical processes remain central.

However, the Whitelane survey does not provide separately reported results for Swiss banks. The findings relate to the surveyed companies with high IT spending as a whole.

AI being adopted more broadly

AI is now almost everywhere. According to the study, only 1 percent said they do not use AI, while 34 percent use tools such as ChatGPT and Copilot. The most significant change is the growing impact of proprietary AI solutions, with the share of organisations reporting significant business benefits rising from 9 percent in 2025 to 17 percent in 2026, pointing to a shift from experimentation to broader operational adoption.

Customer satisfaction as a benchmark

In addition to outsourcing plans, Whitelane also examines how satisfied companies are with their existing IT service providers. It assesses both individual service areas and criteria such as security, service quality, customer support and value for money.

In cloud and infrastructure services, Kyndryl achieves a customer satisfaction score of 83 percent. That is three percentage points higher than a year earlier. The IT service provider therefore shares first place and is classified by Whitelane as an «Exceptional Performer».

Kyndryl also posts high scores in individual performance indicators. In the area of security, the company achieves 84 percent, which, according to the announcement, is the highest score among the providers examined.