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IDC Survey Spotlight: Does Fixed Price Still Dominate Buyer Preference for Consulting Engagements?

Bill Latshaw — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Survey Spotlight is based on data from IDC’s March 2026 Buyer Perception of Business Consulting Providers Survey (n = 656). Buyers were asked for their preferred pricing model for contracting business consulting services. Fixed price dominated at 62.2%, time and materials followed at 28.5%, and outcome-based pricing stayed niche at 9.1%, with a remaining 0.2% choosing other models. The message for traditional consulting is clear. Buyers value predictability and want delivery risk sitting with the provider, not on their own budget.

The picture changes sharply once AI enters delivery. In AI’s Impact on Pricing Models for Business Consulting Services Buyers — Detailed Perspective Version (IDC #US54540426, May 2026), buyers of AI-enabled business consulting (n = 161) spread their preferences almost evenly across four models: fixed price at 27%, time and materials at 25%, pay per use or metered at 24%, and outcome based at 23%. Outcome-based preference is roughly 2.5 times higher than in the traditional consulting survey. AI does more than nudge buyers toward outcomes. It fragments the pricing landscape and removes the comfortable dominance of fixed price.

This IDC Survey Spotlight focuses on business consulting services buyers exclusively. Data includes AI-related business consulting services but is meant as a counterpoint to AI’s Impact on Pricing Models for Business Consulting Services Buyers — Detailed Perspective Version (IDC #US54540426, May 2026).

IDC Survey: IDC’s 2026 Global IT Skills Survey

Gina Smith, PhD — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Survey explores how enterprises assess training strategies for AI and other emerging technologies as well as how AI impacts enterprise IT. It is based on results from IDC’s 2026 Global IT Skills Survey, which explores IT training preferences, strategies, drivers, and blockers among 1,043 IT leaders and professionals in North America, Asia/Pacific, and Western Europe.

Market Forecast: Worldwide and U.S. Enterprise Network Consulting and Integration Services Forecast, 2026–2030

Leslie Rosenberg — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC presentation provides a comprehensive forecast of the worldwide and U.S. network consulting and integration services market from 2025 to 2030, estimating growth from $44.6 billion to $57.1 billion at a 5.0% CAGR. This growth is driven by the need for enterprise organizations to accelerate their network initiatives and maximize the value of their networking investments.

"The enterprise network will continue to rise in importance as the demand for high-speed, low-latency performance becomes a requirement for success in the agentic AI era. These demands, coupled with increased network complexity and skills scarcity, require that organizations leverage resources from their network consulting and integration services partners to accelerate successful network initiatives." — Leslie Rosenberg, research vice president, Network Infrastructure and Services, IDC

PTC Orbit: Asset Intelligence Ensures a Single, Unified Asset Record

Aly Pinder — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Market Note provides perspective on how PTC Orbit impacts aftermarket service organizations, enabling insight-driven actions. PTC Orbit is a cloud-based asset intelligence solution that unifies data across enterprise systems, leveraging AI to deliver actionable insights, break down silos, and enable proactive, organizationwide decision-making.

“When asset intelligence breaks down silos, data transforms from a burden to a catalyst — enabling organizations to act proactively, drive innovation, and unlock the true value of every asset across the product life cycle.” — Aly Pinder, research VP, Worldwide Aftermarket Services Strategies, IDC

EY Global Analyst Summit 2026: Scaling Trust and Outcome-Based Transformation for the Agentic Era

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Market Perspective shares an overview of EY's 2026 Global Analyst Summit, which highlighted the firm's transformation into an AI-native, outcome-driven partner, emphasizing "AI built in, not bolted on." EY showcased its sector depth, alliance strategy, and people-first approach, with end-to-end transformation, outcome-based pricing, and trust as core differentiators. The firm's focus on operating model redesign, workforce upskilling, and embedded sustainability positions EY as a leader in orchestrating enterprise-scale AI adoption and continuous business value realization.

"In the AI era, transformation is less about adding technology and more about changing perspective. Much like Rankin redefined photography by challenging what can be done with AI. EY is pushing enterprises to reframe how they see their operating models, embedding AI, trust, and knowledge as infrastructure to reveal new sources of value. The real question is not whether you have the tools, but whether you are ready to see your business differently and can lead that change from within." — Bill Latshaw, research director, Worldwide Business Consulting Services

IDC Survey: How Enterprises Are Leveraging GenAI Solutions for F&A Business Process Services

Sreenivas Duvvuri Venkata — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Survey examines how worldwide enterprises are leveraging, evaluating, or planning to leverage generative AI (GenAI) solutions for finance and accounting (F&A) business process services delivered by third-party providers. It explores GenAI adoption and spending plans, business priorities, operational challenges, process-level use cases, governance and risk concerns, provider requirements, finance transformation initiatives, and emerging interest in agentic AI. The findings in this IDC Survey are based on IDC’s 2025 Worldwide Business Process Outsourcing Services Survey and highlight how enterprises are approaching GenAI adoption in F&A with an emphasis on operational efficiency, governance, and measurable business value.

China AI Learning Assistant Product Evaluation, 2026

Hongyu Cheng — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

Driven by the continuous deepening of the National Education Digitalization Strategic Action and the accelerated industrialization and implementation of education-specific large language model technologies, the AI-assisted learning sector has entered a steady upward growth cycle.

On the supply side, product forms have continuously evolved and diversified. They have expanded from early single-hardware terminals and question bank tools to a diversified product matrix of integrated software and hardware covering the full scenarios of teaching, learning, management, assessment, and research, forming a comprehensive product system adapted to personalized learning for households and smart teaching for campuses.

On the demand side, the large-scale implementation of smart teaching construction in educational institutions, as well as the growing demands for personalized learning at home and reducing teachers' workload while improving their efficiency, have been continuously released. Users are paying increasing attention to the technical adaptability, educational value, and interactive experience of AI-assisted learning products.

This Evaluation of Mainstream AI-Assisted Learning Products in China has established a scientific evaluation framework based on IDC's authoritative definition of AI-assisted learning products and conducted in-depth evaluations of mainstream AI-assisted learning products on the market.

The research aims to comprehensively sort out the current technical implementation achievements and product development characteristics of AI-assisted learning products, summarize the industry's best practices, provide research support for the standardized and high-quality development of the AI-assisted learning industry, and offer professional references for industry participants and users to fully understand product value and match application needs.

Enterprise Procurement and Partnership in the Age of AI and Outcome-Based Connectivity — Analysis by Region

Paul Hughes — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Perspective is the first in a series of three documents that examine how businesses expect to procure connectivity services and related transformation projects in the era of AI and outcome-based connectivity. Drawing on IDC's 2025 Enterprise Connectivity Infrastructure and Services Survey and other related IDC data sources, this IDC Perspective identifies regional differences for connectivity provider preferences and procurement methods across North America, Europe, and APAC.

"Regional procurement patterns reveal that geography still shapes how enterprises source and evaluate connectivity," commented Paul Hughes, research director, Future Enterprise Connectivity Strategies at IDC. "This comes even as the underlying provider competition converges globally and as AI leadership from the supplier community differs in depth, perspective, and approach."

Market Analysis Perspective: EMEA AI-Fueled Business Strategies, 2026

Lapo Fioretti — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Market Analysis Perspective provides insight into the current and future state of the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) AI-fueled business strategies market. It includes an overview of the current market landscape, a technology buyer perspective, a market outlook, and IDC’s advice for technology suppliers/services suppliers in this market.

“AI is shifting technology discussions into the business domain, with maturity gradually increasing across EMEA. CEOs are looking beyond efficiency gains to reinvent business models, but challenges remain. Many organizations struggle to identify high-value use cases and measure ROI, often treating AI as a purely technical initiative while overlooking the need for effective change management,” said Lapo Fioretti, senior research analyst, AI-Fueled Business Strategies at IDC.

Market Forecast: Saudi Arabia IT Services Forecast, 2026–2030

Eric Samuel, Uzair Mujtaba — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 04:00:00 GMT

This IDC Market Forecast covers the 2025–2030 forecast for Saudi Arabia's IT services market across its three primary and 11 foundation markets. It examines how Vision 2030 priorities, regulatory change, and enterprise AI adoption are reshaping demand, with managed services and consulting capturing the fastest growth. The analysis quantifies a roughly 9% CAGR, dissects segment-level drivers and inhibitors, and sets out the capability investments and go-to-market priorities technology suppliers need to compete through 2030.

"Saudi Arabia's IT services market is expected to enter a cyclical trough in 2026, not a structural one. Sovereign cloud activation, PDPL enforcement, and Vision 2030 delivery momentum provide a durable demand floor, and IDC projects the market to recover toward double-digit growth from 2028 as cloud environments operationalize and AI investment frameworks mature," said Eric Samuel, associate research director, Services at IDC.