"While the 82 percent may be a bit of a short-term anomaly, restructuring has indeed increased over the past five years," says Keppel. Around 33 percent of outsourcing activity was in fact a restructuring in 2010 and 2011.

That level of contract reworking is likely to continue at a higher rate as . An ISG analysis of historic market data found the number of outsourcing transactions has increased dramatically over time even as the average duration of contracts has declined.

As a result, contract expirations are now occurring at twice the rate they did five years ago. A record 570 outsourcing contracts worth at least $25 million were scheduled to expire in 2011, and another record 690 will wind down this year, according to TPI. Five yeas ago, just 310 deals reach their end date.

The upside for customers is the increased opportunity to lower costs, improve service levels or , says Keppel. "But to realize those opportunities, clients need to be sure that they have a detailed understanding of market dynamics, competitive pricing and technology trends when they undertake a restructuring."