The BPO industry has been going though an incredible evolution since the first major deals was cast, barely more than a decade ago, that it’s high time we took stock and take a good look at the phases – or generations – through which our industry has progressed. And there are few people who have lived and breathed these generational shifts more closely that Accenture’s BPO leader, Mike Salvino.
Emptoris’ well-regarded user interface and strong brand recognition among the procurement crowd make it an idea mate for IBM’s technology-driven focus and market leading procurement BPO capability. While the integration of Sterling, DemandTec, and Emptoris will take some time to become “smarter commerce”, there will be some immediate upsides.
With SAP’s move to “Cloudify” its software portfolio with the $3.4bn acquisition of the darling of HR software, SuccessFactors, we do not believe this is particularly good news for BPO service providers and services clients
Capgemini has made a major move towards strengthening its position in the global F&A BPO market by today acquiring Vengroff Williams and Associates – and leaping to third in the market share spot for F&A globally
The ability to develop some best-in-class processes as “Business Platforms”, whether they focus on horizontal or vertical process clusters, is becoming a real differentiator in the market, as buyers seek more standardized solutions from their outsourcing engagements. The gauntlet being laid out to providers, with these Business Platforms, is their ability to support their clients’ transitions quickly and inexpensively. Simply selling “products” is not the concept of business platforms – it is the provider’s ability to work with their customers to facilitate and support the ultimate business outcomes of managing the processes associated with the Business Platform offering.
CMOs have it tough today, whichever geography or market you look at. They’re stretching dollars for myriad activities in a function that’s undergoing major change. HfS Research’s Reetika Joshi discusses her new report “Marketing BPO Services: Solving the CMO’s Dilemma”
The final installment of our recent discussion between HfS CEO Phil Fersht and Genpact’s new President and CEO, NV “Tiger” Tyagarajan, which delves into Tiger’s vision for the future of technology and BPO.
What is motivating buyers to outsource in this current climate? While eliminating cost is still is a huge fundamental, buyers are even more focused on achieving greater flexibility to scale their global operations as a prime motivating factor. Clearly, many executives are getting more experienced and skilled at driving an sourcing initiative, and are confident they can use the endeavor as a change agent to promote and implement much-needed change in their businesses.
This report authored by HfS Research and Loeb&Loeb provides both Business-function and IT executives with a detailed assessment of Cloud adoption strategies, an analysis of business benefits, concerns, challenges and contractual issues that need to be addressed and discusses the key service providers provisioning Cloud Computing services in today’s market.
Organizations have always been wary of outsourcing during recessions. While today it delivers cost-reduction to clients in spades (proven emphatically during our recent state-of-outsourcing study), many organizations have proven, in the past, to push it down the priority-list of radical cost-reduction measures, when they fear for their very existence. However, with the threat of a “Double-Dip” recession very much a grim reality, HfS believes this cycle is likely to be broken.
As IBM’s Donniel Schulman’s reputation and influence in the BPO industry has grown in recent years, we’ve finally persuaded the chirpy New Yorker to share some of his story since IBM entered the BPO industry via its 2002 acquisition of PwC Consulting
The Swiss, in their typically punctilious fashion, now have an “Anti-PowerPoint Party” with the self-stated goal of having the number of boring PowerPoint presentations on the planet to decrease and the average presentation to become more exciting and more interesting.
We’re delighted to announce that we, at HfS Research, have today officially launched our Cloud Business Services Research Practice. And not only that, but we’ve hired the perfect man to lead this unique coverage: the one and only Sir Robert McNeill of Dumfries and Galloway.
Outsourcing of IT and business process has always been a game for large enterprises, where well-executed large-scale employee transitions have resulted in profitable endeavors for both providers and buyers. But while the large buyers like saving the money, it’s actually mid-market sector ($1bn-$3bn revenues) which is getting a lot more out of the experience
Whatever the motives buyers have when they outsource, the first critical metric they must reach is to save the money they were promised at the onset of the engagement. And we have spectacularly good news for the entire outsourcing industry – the cost savings targets are being met – and being met well, with over 95% of current buyers viewing the engagements as effective for reducing their operating costs. However, that’s pretty much where the good news tapers off, as the rest of the results are pretty modest
IBM’s Institute for Business Value (IBM Global Services’ executive research group) announced findings from its huge CIO survey undertaken every 2 years. It’s a massive piece of work involving 3000 one hour face-to-face interviews with CIOs from around the world—this year it has some great news for CMOs.
Cognizant is at present the darling of the IT offshore services and outsourcing industry for its consistent and impressive growth and positive levels of customer satisfaction, so we thought we’d share some impressions with our readers.
Despite a challenging economy, NorthgateArinso grew revenues 8.5% in its 2009/2010 fiscal year and increased win rates in its HRO business. The company has made significant investments in its core technology platforms, established an extensive global delivery infrastructure, created a massive library of process standards, is in the midst of a company-wide rollout of Six Sigma, and has been developing the culture and skills it thinks are required for execution excellence and improved customer satisfaction.
So why did Genpact buy Headstrong, in the third-largest acquisition ever made by an India-based provider, since Wipro picked up InfoCrossing for a cool $600m in 2007, and HCL-Axon for a similar sum, the following year? And, most importantly, what does this mean for the immediate future of the BPO business?
Companies need leaders to start thinking about the future of work as part of their business planning processes. HR leaders are well positioned to understand the capability and talent of the organization. They also have access to more enabling technology they ever before to help engage the entire workforce in creating the future of work at their companies.
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