IDC's Worldwide Services Contracts Database Taxonomy, 2026

Description

This IDC study provides a detailed description of IDC's worldwide services contracts database taxonomy and methodology. It is intended as a companion document for clients and analysts using IDC's services contracts database. The taxonomy establishes consistent classification standards for contract-level analysis, enabling users to filter, compare, and analyze deal activity across service types, geographies, and buyer industries."IDC's services contracts database taxonomy establishes the definitional boundaries that determine what counts as a services contract, how it is classified, and how its value is measured. For any organization using services contracts database data to inform vendor strategy, competitive positioning, or market sizing, the taxonomy is the analytical foundation on which every insight in the database depends on," said Stacey Soohoo, research director, IDC's Data and Analytics."IDC's services contracts database taxonomy provides a standardized framework that ensures every contract we track is consistent and comparable across all geographies and service categories. It gives clients methodological transparency to confidently analyze deal trends, benchmark vendor performance, and identify services opportunities in an increasingly complex market," said Supriya Kamath, senior research manager, IDC's Global Services and Market Trends.

Product Code: AP54495526

IDC's Worldwide Services Contracts Database Taxonomy

Services Contracts Database Taxonomy Changes for 2026

Taxonomy Overview

Hierarchical Mapping: Services Contracts Database Primary/Secondary Markets

Hierarchy of services contracts database markets

Definitions

Services contract definition
Services classification
- Business services
  - Business consulting
- Business process outsourcing
  - Human resources BPO
  - Procurement BPO
  - Finance and accounting BPO
  - Customer care BPO
  - Marketing BPO
  - "Other" horizontal BPO
- Vertical (industry-specific) business process outsourcing services
- IT services
- Technology consulting and implementation
  - IT consulting
  - Network consulting and implementation
  - Systems integration
  - Custom application development
- Technology outsourcing
  - Application management
  - IT outsourcing
  - Network and endpoint outsourcing services
  - Hosting infrastructure services
  - Carrier network infrastructure outsourcing services
- IT deploy and support
  - Hardware deploy and support
  - Software deploy and support
- IT education and training
- Engineering services
  - Product engineering services
  - Operational technology services
Geography taxonomy
Services contract versus partnership
- Services contract (services contracts database-eligible)
- True partnership/strategic alliance (services contracts database-ineligible)
Data reporting
- Standards for defining deal values and total contract value
- Services percentage of TCV
- Treatment of different currencies
- Company name
- Contract attributes and status
- Geography: signing versus scope versus sourcing
- Industry
- Keywords

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Methodology
- Deal discovery
- Deal valuation and services percentage of TCV
Related research
Synopsis