So while increased offshoring, economic malaise, and customer focus on cost-cutting points to price drops, any further mergers could--in theory at least--foretell another story.

"Recent consolidation may portend upward price pressure, especially if other providers follow suit," says Trowbridge. Decreased competition rarely leads to lower prices. But, notes Trowbridge, offshore vendors continued inroads into the marketplace could serve to keep prices in check: "We anticipate that this upward pressure will be more than offset by global delivery capabilities in the marketplace. It's an area that will require reassessment as events shake out in 2010.

Amid continued economic uncertainty, outsourcing buyers will seek out pricing flexibility in the new year. "We see increased emphasis on on-demand transactional-based pricing predominantly because companies can't predict what the rebound will look like," says Bob Cecil, head of EquaTerra's business and financial process practice. "We are also seeing more ."

Cloud computing will also attract more buyers. Dave Brown, head of EquaTerra's financial architecture practice, says cloud service providers and customers will begin to better understand cloud computing pricing and software as a service pricing in 2010, and that will drive organizations to adopt the new cloud delivery model.