Many IT outsourcing contracts are characterised by misunderstanding and mistrust between suppliers and customers, according to a recent report from consultancy firm PA Consulting.

A survey of over 300 organisations, including IT service providers, customers, and legal advisors, found over half of customers struggled to realise the expected benefits from IT outsourcing deals and high levels of tension between suppliers and customers were the main reason for the problem.

Jonathan Cooper Bagnall, one of the authors of the report, said the blame lay on both sides of the contract, with IT service providers often failing to provide services that go beyond those contractually agreed and customers failing to communicate clearly with their suppliers.

"Suppliers need to invest more in looking beyond contractual obligations while clients need to invest more in their retained organisation and think more about precisely how they work with their supplier," Bagnall said.

According to the report, customers are particularly guilty of failing to develop skilled partnership management teams capable of communicating clearly with their suppliers. The survey found 44 percent of suppliers thought their customers' organisation was "immature", and almost half felt their customers’ skills were inadequate.

The scale of the mistrust was highlighted by responses from legal advisors on outsourcing -half said that less than 10 percent of their clients understood what the word "partnership" meant.