Here's Who Made Gartner's 2017 Magic Quadrant For Managed Workplace Services

Service With A Smile

Gartner this month released a new Magic Quadrant for managed workplace services. The new quadrant is an evolution of the End-User Outsourcing Services ranking, and is intended to reflect changes in the market, including a move to digital workplace services and cloud-first, automated and integrated support for end users.

The aim of managed workplace services, according to Gartner, is to provide "integrated and ubiquitous workplace services to increase their engagement and productivity while leveraging their digital dexterity to support the organization's digital business strategy."

The list includes some old-school tech behemoths like IBM and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, as well as old-school VARs that have made significant inroads in the services market, like Insight.

Here are the 21 firms that made Gartner's first Magic Quadrant for Managed Workplace Services. They are presented based on where they landed within the quadrant -- Leaders, Challengers, Visionaries and Niche Players -- and include Gartner's take on each company's "strengths" and "cautions."

Leader: Cognizant

New Jersey-based Cognizant pulls big market share in the IT outsourcing and managed workplace services space and is solidly in the quadrant's Leader category. Cognizant delivers service desk services through 85 agents in North America and nearly 11,000 agents in offshore locations. The company provides on-site desktop services through 1,060 technicians. Cognizant supports approximately 4 million service desk users, 18 million contacts and 1 million desktop users in North America, Gartner said.

Cognizant

Strengths: Strong focus on cloud, analytics and user-focused services; a broad portfolio that spans application delivery, identity and access management and hybrid cloud services; strong approach to collaboration, content management and communication; adaptable, flexible, customer-focused.

Cautions: Must improve depth and breadth of professional services, expand its strategic roadmap to differentiate it from competitors, and move more quickly in artificial intelligence/intelligent automation space.

Leader: CompuCom

Another services industry giant, CompuCom is listed as a Magic Quadrant Leader. The firm's North America service desk business comprises 1,606 agents in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and another 47 in India. The company also delivers on-site desktop services through 5,923 agents in the U.S. and Canada, and provides desktop support services for about 5 million users, more than 6.4 million physical desktops/laptops and 428,000 mobile devices. The company also provides services to nearly 2 million users through walk-up kiosks. CompuCom is currently developing its virtual personal assistance offering and its digital transformation platform, named Advanced Intelligent Automation.

CompuCom

Strengths: Simple, "consumerized" approach to services delivery; high client retention rate; efficient delivery and deployment for end users; strong technical knowledge, flexibility, good ability to work in partnership.

Cautions: Must invest in new automation and artificial intelligence capabilities; customers with globally distributed sites looking for low-cost providers may not look to CompuCom; must accelerate development of digital workplace capabilities; concerns with communication across internal teams.

Leader: CSC

With a "top 10" market share in the IT outsourcing market, CSC is solidly in Gartner's Leader quadrant. CSC has 298 service desk agents in the U.S. and Canada, in addition to 732 agents in South America, Europe and Asia. CSC delivers on-site desktop services in North America through 939 technicians, according to Gartner. It supports nearly 1.4 million service desks, 694,000 desktop users, more than 584,000 physical desktops/laptops and 107,000 mobile devices, Gartner said. The company also reaches users through about 27,000 walk-up kiosks.

CSC

Strengths: Solid portfolio and clear roadmap; the pending merger with Hewlett Packard Enterprise's Enterprise Services division will boost capabilities both in North America and worldwide; expanding portfolio on collaboration and communication; highly skilled technicians, timely execution

Cautions: Still missing or developing key components of managed workplace services portfolio; must ensure smooth transition after merger; traditional strategy constrains CSC from meeting evolving client needs.

Leader: HCL Technologies

India-based HCL has historically been an infrastructure-as-a-service provider, and Gartner puts the company in the Leader quadrant. The company has 654 service desk agents in North America, and more than 2,100 in the Philippines, India and Mexico. HCL also provides on-site desktop services through more than 3,600 desktop technicians. It supports over 1 million service desk users, 484,000 desktop users, over 394,000 physical desktops/notebooks, 44,000 virtual desktops, over 213,000 smartphones and tablets, and over 19,000 users via cloud-based DaaS, Gartner said.

HCL Technologies

Strengths: Empowers users in workplace transformation; sophisticated consulting abilities; strong growth in the North America market; extensive services catalog; addresses issues beyond contractual responsibility.

Cautions: Must turn investments in automation and proactive support into strategies for providing cost-competitive services; still focused primarily on traditional services; may not be as proactive or innovative as some clients would like.

Leader: HPE Enterprise Services

HPE Enterprise Services has a managed workplace services portfolio focused on workplace productivity. It offers services to more than 660 clients globally and supports around 7.5 million service desk and desktop users. Alluding to its pending merger with CSC, Gartner says clients should be "early and diligent in addressing changes as the two vendors figure out redundancies and organizational requirements to fill critical skills gaps in a timely manner."

HPE Enterprise Services

Strengths: Comprehensive portfolio including mobility, desktop virtualization and service desk; extensive global reach; skilled technicians, consistent delivery.

Cautions: Mobile-based solutions still being developed or in early stages of maturity; needs to add more options to its portfolio and delivery based on users' specific requirements.

Leader: IBM

IBM's managed workplace services portfolio is focused on mobility and related services, Gartner notes, but its overall strategy is underpinned by investment directed to support the provider's strategic imperatives, including cognitive computing, analytics, cloud, social and security, Gartner said. IBM's large global footprint means it can promote its managed workplace services portfolio to a wide audience. In the Americas, IBM supports approximately 2.1 million service desk users, 997,000 desktop users and 299,000 mobile devices, Gartner said.

IBM

Strengths: Wide and deep capabilities from consulting to implementation; focus on streamlined PC management and improved user experience; evolving its offerings beyond standard workplace management solutions; strong technical knowledge.

Cautions: Efforts on mobility, cloud and social may take away from traditional services; difficult to differentiate.

Leader: Tata Consultancy Services

India-based Tata has 600 agents in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, in addition to more than 3,300 agents in multiple locations in Latin America, Europe and Asia. TCS provides on-site desktop services through 3,879 desktop technicians. TCS supports over 2.54 million users in North America (both service desk and workplace devices), with over 1.6 million contacts handled per year. TCS manages over 931,000 desktops/laptops and 104,000 virtual desktops, and supports 510,000 smartphones and tablets. About 37,000 users are supported via kiosk/café locations.

Tata Consultancy Services

Strengths: Comprehensive portfolio of services; strong growth rate in U.S.; well-defined vision based on user experience and worker effectiveness.

Cautions: Clients must assess TCS's proprietary tools against off-the-shelf alternatives; small onshore footprint; in transition between traditional services and digital transformation.

Leader: Wipro

India-based Wipro has agents across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, India and the Philippines, according to Gartner. Wipro also provides on-site desktop services through an estimated 700 desktop technicians. It handles over 9.5 million service desk contacts in North America, including some 900,000 users, Gartner estimates. Wipro's focus on innovation and digital transformation for its clients is backed by its investments in research and innovation, Gartner said.

Wipro

Strengths: Wipro's portfolio of services is a good springboard for addressing requirements around virtualization, mobility and collaboration; strong North America growth; moving into aggregation, integration, delivery and intelligent support of a growing number of cloud-based applications.

Cautions: Essential that Wipro leverages low-hanging fruit into higher-value, sustainable deals; must invest in integrating and marketing its offerings; must differentiate in a fast-moving market.

Challenger: Atos

Atos was one of the final firms in contention to buy Dell's services business last year. In North America, Atos supports more than 2 million users through its managed workplace services, about 1.4 million of them with service desk, and about 800,000 with desktops and laptops, Gartner notes. Atos also supports more than 750,000 physical desktops/laptops and 227,000 mobile devices. The digital workplace is the focus of the firm's growth plans for the next two years.

Atos

Strengths: Promotion of digital transformation while supporting traditional environments; growing North America presence after Xerox acquisition; flexibility and consistency.

Cautions: Some strategic investments are in beginning stages, meaning customers will be early adopters; falling prices for break-fix service; still in the midst of its own digital transformation; keeping technicians' skills up-to-date.

Challenger: Dell Services

Last year, Dell Services became NTT Data Services after the Japan-based firm acquired Dell's former services arm. In North America, the company provides services through 506 agents in the U.S. and another 1,452 in Europe, India, Mexico, Central America and Malaysia, according to Gartner. The company provides on-site desktop services through about 2,400 desktop technicians. In North America, Dell Services supports approximately 3.9 million service desk users, 1.4 million desktop users, more than 1.2 million physical desktops/laptops and 977,000 mobile devices. Approximately 14,200 users are serviced through walk-up kiosks, according to Gartner.

Dell Services

Strengths: "Consumerized" strategy addresses mobile workforce with self-service options and multi-device access; end-to-end service and cost-efficiency; "fast follower" that emphasizes customer experience; flexible, willing to commit to customer business outcomes.

Cautions: Focused on traditional managed workplace services; still in the early stages of developing capabilities in unified communications, persona-based support and self-service capabilities; must accelerate its vision for digital workplace services.

Challenger: Unisys

Unisys has 806 service agents in the U.S., and more than 1,700 in Asia and Latin America, according to Gartner. Unisys also provides on-site desktop services through 1,775 desktop technicians. The company supports over 1.1 million service desk users and handles over 7.3 million service desk contacts. It also supports over 1 million workplace device users and manages over 1.1 million physical desktops/notebooks and 4,500 virtualized desktops, according to Gartner.

Unisys

Strengths: Strong focus on enhancing its portfolio of mobility services; strong on-site support services; security services for cloud and mobility; portfolio of collaboration, content and communication capabilities, delivered through a persona-based framework.

Cautions: Needs to accelerate marketing of digital workplace transformation capabilities; must continue to invest in its strengths, like on-site support; must accelerate pace of development.

Visionary: Capgemini

France-based Capgemini delivers service desk services to its North American clients through 177 agents in the U.S. and Canada, and through 2,158 agents in Europe and Asia, according to Gartner. Last year, Capgemini supported about 320,000 users and 6 million contacts, Gartner said. Capgemini's workplace support capabilities in North America included approximately 200,000 desktop users, more than 160,000 physical desktops/laptops and 25,000 mobile devices, according to Gartner.

Capgemini

Strengths: Integrated end-user environment and services from mobility and hosted or virtual desktops to traditional devices and cloud storage services; mobile-first support to end users; innovative support functions reduce incidents; focus on measuring and enhancing service quality; collaborative, flexible approach.

Cautions: Relies heavily on offshore labor and traditional services; must improve quality and consistency to gain traction in North American market; high turnover rate; must introduce cloud integration and DaaS services.

Visionary: Fujitsu

Fujitsu, the Japan-based IT outsourcing giant, operates a service desk that's manned by 677 agents in the U.S., Canada, Costa Rica and other countries, according to Gartner. Fujitsu also provides on-site desktop services through 431 technicians in the U.S. and Canada. It supports approximately 391,000 service desk users, 293,000 desktop users, over 295,000 desktops/notebooks, 17,000 virtual desktops, and 19,000 smartphones and tablets, Gartner said, adding that the firm's growth in North America topped 29 percent in 2015.

Fujitsu

Strengths: Strong partnerships with Microsoft, VMware, Citrix and ServiceNow; strong technical knowledge and focus on service quality; clear roadmap and focus; good support for cloud and other innovative solutions; good communication around critical issues; proactively seeks improvement opportunities.

Cautions: Not yet known for workplace transformation services; limited North America footprint diminishes ability to compete for large, global deals; focus on custom solutions means Fujitsu can't always leverage predictable, repeatable solutions.

Visionary: Genpact

Genpact was spun out of GE about 10 years ago. Its managed workplace services portfolio in North America includes remote end-user device management, mobility and cloud collaboration tool support. The firm has 187 service desk agents across the U.S. and Mexico, and nearly 3,000 in the Philippines and India. Genpact also provides on-site desktop services through 300 desktop technicians, and consulting services around digital workplace implementation. Genpact supports approximately 2.2 million service desk users, 101,000 desktop users, over 70,000 desktops/notebooks, 1,500 virtual desktops, and 87,000 smartphones and tablets, according to Gartner. Genpact leverages its strong workplace process re-engineering capabilities to deliver managed workplace services that focus on user experience, Gartner said.

Genpact

Strengths: Access to business-related data and applications; consistent growth in the mid-market; focus on self-help, automated services; high accountability, flexibility.

Cautions: Not a good fit for traditional, low-cost services or stand-alone field services; low adoption rate for key products.

Niche Player: Bell Techlogix

Bell Techlogix supports some 876,000 users with both service desk and workplace devices and handles 337,000 contacts, according to Gartner. It manages 134,000 desktops and notebooks, as well as 160,000 smartphones and tablet devices.

Bell Techlogix

Strengths: Expanded automation and analytics capabilities; on-shore delivery for U.S. clients; 24/7, multilingual support around the world; focus on performance optimization for hardware and software; strong BYOD support.

Cautions: Challenged to provide cost advantages versus competitors; no local presence for 24/7, multilingual support outside the U.S.; needs to expand mobile and remote digital workforce presence; concerns with quality of change management controls.

Niche Player: C3i Healthcare Connections

C3i Healthcare Connections focuses solely on the life sciences and pharmaceutical verticals. The company delivers service desk services thorough 349 agents located in Pennsylvania and 849 agents located in Bulgaria and India, according to Gartner. The company handles about 2.5 million service desk contacts from 217,000 service desk users and supports approximately 65,000 workplace device users, 66,000 physical desktops/notebooks, 579 virtual desktops, and 70,000 smartphones, Gartner said.

C3i Healthcare Connections

Strengths: End-user training and service desk offerings for cloud-based CRM deployments; local resources in more than 20 countries; strong service delivery; competitive pricing compared to larger providers.

Cautions: Does not offer automated service desk or desktop virtualization services; may not be well suited to clients outside life sciences and pharma because of its focus more traditional desktop and mobile support; limited global reach compared to those of larger competitors.

Niche Player: Insight

With deep VAR roots, Insight now has about 100 service desk agents in the U.S. and a little more than a dozen in the U.K., according to Gartner. The Arizona-based company also provides on-site desktop services through 379 technicians. Insight supports 42,800 service desk users, 532,000 desktop users, 361,000 physical desktops/notebooks, 1,500 virtual desktops, and approximately 58,000 smartphones and tablets, Gartner said.

Insight

Strengths: Making important investments to expand its capabilities; consistent track record in mid-size and enterprise organizations; self-service and flexible support options designed to meet emerging digital workplace needs.

Cautions: Very specific target market for managed workplace services; perhaps not a good fit for clients seeking low-cost, offshore model.

Niche Player: Long View

Long View delivers secure, managed workplace services as part of a portfolio of cloud and hybrid IT services. The company has 114 agents in the U.S. and Canada. Long View also provides on-site desktop services through 284 desktop technicians. It also supports over 97,000 users (both service desk and workplace devices) with 730,800 contacts handled, manages over 78,000 desktops/laptops and 350 virtual desktops, and supports over 68,000 smartphones and tablets, Gartner said. Approximately 5,000 users are supported via kiosk/café locations. Long View's fastest-growing markets are in the Eastern U.S. and Canada, Gartner said.

Long View

Strengths: Customizable services catalog; consistent track record of services delivery; building on a solid model; flexible to changing business needs.

Cautions: Limited geographic presence; lack of brand recognition.

Niche Player: Pomeroy

Kentucky-based Pomeroy was acquired in 2015 by private equity firm Clearlake Capital Group, and integrated with another Clearlake firm, Tolt Solutions, a technology and service firm primarily focused on clients in the specialty retail, grocery, convenience and food service industries. Pomeroy delivers service desk services in North America through 551 agents in 15 locations across the U.S., Canada and Latin America. It also provides on-site desktop services through 1,285 desktop technicians. Pomeroy and Tolt handle 3.2 million contacts and 369,000 users. Pomeroy manages approximately 1.6 million physical desktops/notebooks, 68,000 virtual desktops and 474,000 smartphones and tablets for 1.4 million users, Gartner said.

Pomeroy

Strengths: Cloud-based service automation platform being deployed by key clients; strong renewal rates and business pipeline; focus on digital workplace services.

Cautions: Most contacts still handled by agents via telephone; unclear innovation strategy.

Niche Player: Stefanini

Brazil-based Stefanini has grown its presence in North America through the acquisitions of three U.S. firms since 2010: TechTeam Global, Code X and RCG Staffing, according to Gartner. Stefanini has services delivery centers in North America, and services the market with 440 agents. It has another 2,318 agents in Belgium, Romania, Moldova and the Philippines. Stefanini provides on-site desktop services with 818 desktop technicians. In service desk, Stefanini handles over 5.1 million contacts and supports over 1.2 million users. Over 393,000 physical desktops/notebooks are managed, as well as 18,000 virtual desktops and over 190,000 smartphones and tablets. Stefanini also supports approximately 1,300 users via cloud-based DaaS, according to Gartner.

Stefanini

Strengths: Continued investment in digital workplace capabilities; consistent revenue growth; increased emphasis on user experience, knowledge management, flexible deployment, cognitive interfaces and vertical specialization.

Cautions: Stefanini is on the right track, but still behind competitors; less on-site service presence than competitors in North America; must expand scope of offerings.

Niche Player: Zensar

Zensar is an India-based firm, but its infrastructure management services are headquartered in the U.S. The company has 95 agents located in the U.S., and another 404 in India, China, South Africa and the Netherlands. Zensar also provides on-site desktop services through 174 desktop technicians. It handles over 3.6 million service desk contacts across 650,000 users. It also supports over 650,000 workplace device users and manages 588,000 mobile devices, Gartner said.

Zensar

Strengths: Simple, progressive portfolio; successfully leverages portfolio with several managed workplace components with global locations; solutions enhance workplace freedom and offer seamless mobile user experiences.

Cautions: Lacks a consistent track record; needs to execute on its "next-gen end-user computing" vision.