Phil Fersht
CEO and Chief Analyst

Phil Fersht is a world-renowned analyst, writer and visionary in emerging technologies, automation, digital business models, and the alignment of enterprise operations to drive customer impact and competitive advantage.

Fersht coined the terms the “Digital OneOffice” and the “Hyperconnected Economy” which describe HFS Research’s vision for future business operations amidst the impact of automation, AI and disruptive digital business models. In 2012, he authored the first analyst report on Robotic Process Automation (RPA), introducing this topic to the industry and is widely recognized as the pioneering analyst voice that has driven the evolution of the RPA industry.

Prior to founding HFS in 2010, Phil has held various analyst roles for Gartner (AMR) and IDC and was BPO Marketplace leader for Deloitte Consulting across the United States. Over the past 20 years, Fersht has lived and worked in Europe, North-America, and Asia, where he has advised on hundreds of operations strategy, outsourcing, and global business services engagements.

He is also the author and creator of the most widely-read and acclaimed blog in the global services industry, entitled “Horses for Sources” now entering its twelfth year.  He regularly contributes to key media publications and is a regular keynote speaker at major industry events, such as NASSCOM, ANDI, ABSL, Sourcing Interests Group and HFS Research “FORA” Summits. He was named Analyst of the Year in 2016 for the third time by the Institute of Industry Analyst Relations, which voted on 170 other leading IT industry analysts.

He received a Bachelor of Science, with Honors, in European Business and Technology from Coventry University, UK and a Diplôme Universitaire de Technologie in Business and Technology from the University of Grenoble, France. He also has a diploma from the Market Research Society in the UK.

  • Unlike most other technological breakthroughs in our history, Generative AI has caused a tidal wave of excitement and fear in...Read More

  • Your company culture may be losing its mojo… just don’t go down with the sinking ship

    September 10, 2023 |

    If your colleagues aren't passionate about your brand, barely enjoy working with each other, are struggling to delight your customers, or grow your partnerships, this post-pandemic business climate could well see your business fall away as more adventurous, disruptive, and passionate businesses steal your mindshare and usurp your competitive position. You need to evaluate your own career trajectory and decide whether you have the appetite to be on the winning side in this emerging AI economyRead More

  • As ChatGPT goes Enterprise, here are Ten GenAI Reality Checks you need to take…

    September 03, 2023 | , ,

    Barely ten months after its birth changed the world of technology, OpenAI unleashes ChatGPT Enterprise, where enterprises now have "Enterprise-grade security and privacy, unlimited higher-speed GPT-4 access, longer context windows for processing longer inputs, advanced data analysis capabilities, customization options, and much more."Assuming the 20 enterprises that road-tested ChatGPT Enterprise experienced these benefits in double-quick time, you have to take a serious look at scaling up GenAI tools or risk getting left behind with the most hyped technology since the Internet came to be... here are 10 reality checkpoints you must considerRead More

  • Disrupt or be disrupted: The soaring pace of innovation in payments

    September 02, 2023 | , ,

    HFS launches its first-ever cards and payments Horizons report. Payments demonstrate the fastest innovation cycles in BFS and are in a constant state of disruption as digital models decimate the cost and data intelligence capabilities of legacy systems. Payments-industry shifts are forcing incumbents to work harder to capture growth, pick up the pace of digitization, gain economies of scale, and manage risk—all while contributing to innovation. These demands can be overwhelming, but the potential for growth and innovation in the payments space is real. Therefore, attracting new players in great numbers, crowding the market, and raising the competitive stakes.Read More

  • GBS (Global Business Services) is dead. Long live GBS (Generative Business Services)

    August 21, 2023 | ,

    For more than two decades, Global Business Services (GBS), the centralized service delivery model leveraging a mix of internal shared services and/or 3rd party outsourcing, has been a tried and tested modus operandi for large enterprises to save costs, drive process discipline and improve compliance.However, with the rapid advent of real generative AI capability, the current GBS model is dated, fails to deliver much (if any) value beyond cost and efficiency and has struggled to create viable career opportunities for ambitious talent.  Let’s face it, GBS is still stuck squarely in the back office and fails to provide a career track for the best and brightest to pivot their firms into the generative AI era.Read More

  • The hegemony-obsessed platform economy is scouting for credible provider partners

    August 20, 2023 | ,

    The last decade-plus has seen the ascendancy of platform businesses like Uber, Netflix, Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Spotify and today, six of the top 10 global businesses by market capitalization are platform businesses. The Services for the Platform Economy, 2023 Horizons report covers seven notable providers helping their platform clients efficiently run operations, expand business, and realize value.Read More

  • GenAI is meaningless, unless it is toasted

    August 06, 2023 |

    The tech world must convince people how amazing the GenAI experience is to them, genuinely demonstrating how they can immerse themselves in a new technology that everyone can immerse into their daily lives.  GenAI may not be toasted, but it can make you happy.Read More

  • Krithi’s first TCS re-org… One step forward and two steps back?

    August 03, 2023 | ,

    Is the new TCS org structure really going to propel the company forward in the AI-driven era where scarce skills in areas such as GenAI are at a premium and intra-company collaboration and training are more critical than ever?  Does having an all-male leadership team send the right message to clients and employees, where diversity is so important to its culture and enticing the best young talent? Phil Fersht and Saurabh Gupta look into new TCS CEO K Krithivasan's first major re-organization of his TCS tenure.Read More

  • HFS doubles down on Dana!

    July 25, 2023 | ,

    With a background in Anthropology and IT, Dana Daher brings a unique human-centered perspective to the world of technology. In her new analyst role with HFS, she will collaborate on key research areas impacting clients across Employee Experiences, including HR technology, EX services, automation, generative AI, DEI, and sustainability.Read More

  • IBM’s acquisition of Apptio can shine if IBM Software and IBM Consulting work together to deliver cost-managed innovation at speed

    July 21, 2023 | ,

    HFS believes this is a good deal for both IBM and Apptio. IBM didn’t have much spend data; therefore, there is little overlap in terms of products. The ambition is bold. But the Holy Grail of operations is having an operational single pane of glass that includes automation and AI. If IBM can integrate all those acquisitions and get all that telemetry data out of its often highly specific domains, it can achieve strong differentiation in the market. Conversely, Apptio had hit a sales plateau as it struggled to scale its sales reach. Getting $4.6bn for hitting a plateau is too good an opportunity to turn down.Read More