IT Outsourcing Continues to Grow; Demand for Insourcing as Well 

IT Outsourcing Continues to Grow; Demand for Insourcing as Well 

The Dutch sourcing industry is in a strong position in 2026. This is evident from the Dutch IT Sourcing Study 2026 by Eraneos and Whitelane Research. The study reveals a market that is in full swing, with shifts towards insourcing and especially nearshoring, while AI is widely applied but is bringing about few changes so far.

Although 36 percent of organizations intend to spend more on external IT suppliers over the next two years, a growing proportion are choosing the opposite direction, according to the Dutch IT Sourcing Study 2026 by Eraneos and Whitelane Research, based on nearly two thousand client-supplier relationships at over 350 large organizations (with a turnover exceeding one million). More than a quarter (26 percent) actually plan to reduce external IT spending (compared to 20 percent in 2025). These organizations are bringing outsourced work back in-house, thereby continuing the insourcing trend that has been visible since 2023.

According to Marcel Blommestijn, lead sourcing advisory at Eraneos NL, this growth has a clear cause. 'Five years ago, insourcing was around twelve to thirteen percent. Now we are at 26 percent. Organizations want to retain critical knowledge and realize that they can perform certain activities themselves more financially attractively.' Key applications and development and management activities, in particular, are being brought back in-house, as are parts of cybersecurity. Blommestijn does add a caveat, however: 'For offshore delivery models, one might question whether you can do that internally much more cheaply. But some sectors, such as the government, financial services, and the utilities sector, are limited by regulations in what they are allowed to outsource.'

Read the full article here.

To see the full study results, visit: whitelane.com/netherlands-2026/