The outsourcing boom is over

The leveling off is due in part to experienced customers becoming more savvy and more picky about the work they hand to outsourcing providers.

The reticence on the part of some customers is due to disappointment with the performance of their outsourcing providers, the study found.

"I expected the abnormal termination trends to go down, but they remained pretty high," said Tom Weakland, leader of the outsourcing advisory services practice at DiamondCluster. Abnormal terminations occur when customers scrap a contract before its scheduled completion date.

Premature contract terminations, particularly with onshore providers, continue to be a prevalent trend, he noted.