Combined market up 50%, as XaaS soars 57% and managed services climbs 18%
SYDNEY–(BUSINESS WIRE)–$III #AI–Asia Pacific spending on technology services accelerated sharply in the second quarter, with AI adoption propelling the region to its fastest growth in nearly five years, according to the latest state-of-the-industry report from Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm.
The Asia Pacific ISG Index™, which measures commercial outsourcing contracts with annual contract value (ACV) of US $5 million or more, shows second-quarter ACV for the combined market (both cloud-based XaaS and managed services) climbed 50.5 percent, to a record US $7.6 billion. It was the region’s best quarterly growth rate since the fourth quarter of 2021, and the second quarter in a row it turned in positive results.
“We are clearly seeing renewed momentum in the Asia Pacific market,” said Michael Gale, partner and regional leader, ISG Asia Pacific. “Cloud demand continues to accelerate, as enterprises seek infrastructure services to support AI adoption, while managed services is showing resilience, producing its first US $1 billion ACV quarter in a year and a half.”
Driven by AI, spending on cloud-based services soared 57 percent year on year, to US $6.6 billion, the segment’s highest growth rate in almost five years. Managed services, meanwhile, advanced 18 percent, to just over US $1.0 billion, and was up 30 percent sequentially from the first quarter.
Within the XaaS segment, infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) ACV surged 59 percent, to US $5.8 billion, while software-as-a-service (SaaS) ACV jumped 49 percent, to US $818 million.
In managed services, IT outsourcing (ITO) ACV climbed 46 percent, to US $810 million, on strong demand for application development and maintenance (ADM) services and bundled infrastructure and ADM services. Business process outsourcing (BPO), meanwhile, edged lower, down 3 percent, to US $129 million, with strong growth in industry-specific services not enough to offset weakness in customer engagement services. Engineering, research and development (ER&D) services slumped by 53 percent, to US $85.5 million, as AI impacted demand for software engineering services.
During the quarter, 54 managed services contracts were awarded, down 23 percent year on year.
Among industries, several of the region’s smaller sectors showed strong growth in the quarter: both retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) were up by triple digits, while business services and healthcare/pharmaceuticals each were up more than 50 percent. The region’s two largest industries for outsourcing saw mixed results: banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) was up 3 percent, while manufacturing pulled back 7 percent.
Geographically, the region’s smaller sourcing markets saw the fastest growth, with Southeast Asia up by triple digits and China up nearly 100 percent. The larger markets delivered solid growth, with Japan up 21 percent and Australia/New Zealand, the region’s largest market, up 12 percent, breaking a string of five consecutive quarters of declining results. India, meanwhile, was down 45 percent.
First-Half Results
Asia Pacific’s combined market ACV in the first half rose 29 percent, to US $14.3 billion. The XaaS segment climbed 32 percent, to US $12.5 billion, accounting for 87 percent of the combined market. Managed services rose 10 percent, to US $1.8 billion.
Within XaaS, IaaS and SaaS both saw a similar rate of growth: IaaS was up 32 percent to US $11.0 billion, while SaaS rose 31 percent, to US $1.5 billion.
Within managed services, ITO was up 5.5 percent, to US $1.2 billion, and BPO was down 9 percent, to US $261 million, while ER&D climbed 65 percent, to US $335 million. The 115 managed services contracts awarded in the first half were down 9 percent from the prior year.
2026 Global Forecast
For the full year, ISG said it is maintaining its global forecast of 2.1 percent revenue growth for managed services. At the same time, ISG is raising its previous growth forecast for cloud-based XaaS by 500 basis points, to 30 percent, reflecting continuing strong demand for AI infrastructure and software services.
About the ISG Index™
The ISG Index™ is recognized as the authoritative source for marketplace intelligence on the global technology and business services industry. For 95 consecutive quarters, it has detailed the latest industry data and trends for financial analysts, enterprise buyers, software and service providers, law firms, universities and the media.
The 2Q26 Global ISG Index results were presented during a webcast on July 9. To view a replay of the webcast and download presentation slides, visit this webpage.
About ISG
ISG (Nasdaq: III) is a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. A trusted partner to more than 900 clients, including 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is a long-time leader in technology and business services that is now at the forefront of leveraging AI to help organizations achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm, founded in 2006, is known for its proprietary market data and research, in-depth knowledge and governance of provider ecosystems, and the expertise of its 1,500 professionals worldwide working together to help clients maximize the value of their technology investments.
Contacts
Will Thoretz, ISG
+1 203 517 3119
[email protected]
Erik Arvidson, Matter Communications for ISG
+1 978 518 4542
[email protected]
