The value of outsourcing contracts in EMEA surged during the fourth quarter of 2009, research has indicated.

Total Contract Value (TCV) in the region managed to hit €12.4bn in the last three months of the year - an increase of 135 per cent on the previous quarter and 61 per cent year-on-year.

However, in spite of the improvement in the number of large deals taking place, the overall market shift to smaller value deals continued, according to the fourth quarter EMEA TPI Index.

However, as in other regions of the world, the strong quarterly performance was not enough to offset the effects of the global recession and the pause in outsourcing decision-making on full-year results, said TPI.

“The fourth quarter showed clear signs of recovery, but as expected, the recession took a toll on the full-year results,” said Duncan Aitchison, partner and president, EMEA at TPI.

Additional findings include:

•IT Outsourcing (ITO) dominated EMEA market activity in the fourth quarter, up 127 percent from Q3 and 62 per cent year-on-year.

•Business process outsourcing (BPO) in the region grew 214 percent compared to the third quarter and 57 percent year-on-year.

•Contracts awarded in Financial Services, driven by mega-deal activity, increased 57 per cent from the first half of the year.

“While we don’t expect a bounce back to pre-recession levels, we are maintaining a positive outlook for 2010 as the market starts to show momentum in key industry verticals and signs of steady recovery in the broader market,” concludes Aitchison.