According to ) second quarter EMEA TPI Index, the total contract value (TCV) for these agreements reached £5.2 billion for the period, a drop of 21 percent from the second quarter of 2011 and an 11 percent drop from the first quarter of 2012.

The EMEA region also only awarded one 'mega-deal' (a contract with TCV of at least £622 million), which is down 67 percent year-over-year.

"Europe has had a notably sluggish start to the year," said Duncan Aitchison, EMEA partner at ISG.

"The shortfall in EMEA stems from a drop-off in the pace of smaller contract awards, as well as the absence of significant mega-deal activity."

The EMEA results are in stark contrast to other regions, as the Americas TCV of £5.05 billion was up six percent over the same quarter a year ago, while Asia Pacific TCV of £3.11 billion represented growth of 181 percent year-on-year.