Clients will also need hardy in place to keep pace. "Clients and their vendor management infrastructure have definitely matured over the past decade," says Keppel. "Still, it can be challenging for companies to keep up with the moving targets of new technologies, new provider offerings and new contract and pricing dynamics, and changing negotiation strategies."

While restructuring activity does little to add to the the way new contracts do, service providers will have more opportunities to either win or extend a portion of the scope of any , says Keppel.

If you apply what ISG calls the 80/80 rule, around 80 percent of service provider incumbents can expect to retain at least 80 percent of their existing work during a restructuring. That leaves 20 percent for other providers to get a foot in the door at a new client. "To compensate, we often see incumbent service providers try to renegotiate before term in order to keep competitors out and retain the a little bit more scope," Keppel says.

in CIO's Outsourcing Drilldown.