This month, we unveiled the 2021 rankings on Data and Decisions (download report here<\/a>) which clearly show which providers have been able to maximize the value of their data investments during the pandemic:<\/p>\n Click to Enlarge<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n To learn more, I sat down with Reetika Fleming<\/a>, Research Leader and David Cushman<\/a>, Practice Leader at HFS to talk about their reflections and perspectives in working on one of our most exciting and topically relevant research publications,\u00a0 2021 HFS Top 10 Rankings on Data and Decisions.<\/p>\n Phil Fersht, CEO and Chief Analyst, HFS Research: <\/strong>So Reetika, What did you learn from doing this interesting and topically relevant Top 10?<\/span><\/p>\n Reetika Fleming, Research Leader, HFS\u00a0Research:<\/strong><\/span> Well an obvious one was that organizations turned to their data investments to help them survive through the pandemic, and there\u2019s more to come down the line. We realized the need for a strong underlying data foundation to develop business agility. And agility is key to tackle planning and budgeting through market volatility, cope with supply chain challenges, or redesign operational processes to function virtually. The data and decisions service partners to the Global 2000 that we evaluated for this Top 10 all shared examples along these lines.<\/p>\n Phil:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>Anything that surprised you from this Top 10,\u00a0Reetika?<\/span><\/p>\n Reetika:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>One thing that didn\u2019t surprise me, was the level of demand for data and decisions services across the value chain of consulting, data management, data visualization, and analytical modeling. Across the participating service providers, we observed 41%<\/strong> average growth in the number of clients in data and decisions between 2018 and 2020.<\/p>\n I was<\/em> surprised \u2013 in a good way \u2013 by the number of business leaders taking ownership and driving enterprise-wide data and analytics initiatives, in collaboration with CDOs and CIOs. Traditionally, the IT organization has driven data governance and infrastructure-related mandates that has inhibited the strategic use of data in business. This is starting to change, and we\u2019re finding business leaders more and more wanting to come out of their \u201cpockets of expertise\u201d in data and analytics and wanting to collaborate with their peers across departments and drive global standards of data sharing and trust.<\/p>\n Phil:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong>So, Reetika which Service providers are Top on the list? Why?<\/span><\/p>\n Reetika:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>For the Top 10, we assessed 11 service providers across execution, innovation, OneOffice alignment, and voice of the customer criteria. The top 5 leaders are, in order, Accenture, IBM, TCS, Infosys, and EXL. Their secrets to success are not all the same, interestingly:<\/p>\n Phil:\u00a0<\/strong>David, my question for you is this. We always go deep on voice of the customer to round out our research. Any notable takeaways here?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n David Cushman, Practice Leader, HFS\u00a0Research:\u00a0<\/strong>EXL stood out here claiming the top spot in our Voice of the Customer category, on a podium completed by Accenture and Wipro. Customers like EXL’s ability to deliver \u201cend-to-end solutions built at pace, at cost, with high reusability.\u201d They rate size, scale, cost, speed to delivery, and response times as EXL’s greatest strengths.<\/p>\n Accenture customers told us: “They have problem-solving capabilities at scale.” Customers feel Accenture can introduce big ideas in ways that aren’t scary, and that they take pains to understand their clients\u2019 businesses. Customers praise their open and honest communications and ability to respond at speed.<\/p>\n And there was praise for Wipro\u2019s communications. Their regular updates on plans as they progress were welcome in a period in which clients faced the disruption of Covid-19.\u00a0Clients describe Wipro as a \u201ctrue partner\u201d and applaud them for\u00a0bringing a strong mix of\u00a0internal IP and external capabilities. Wipro\u2019s data understanding, data management capabilities, and speed of development also ticked customer boxes.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s not all roses. Our Voice of the Customer research found that in many cases providers need to be more proactive in mitigating the risks introduced by remote work. They want more of what Wipro has been delivering \u2013 communication, communication, communication.<\/p>\n Some feel they don\u2019t always get the full power of the service provider they sign up with, either. The gap between the vision they are sold and the actual access to capabilities delivered, too often fall short.<\/p>\n Enterprises have noticed high rates of staff turnover and that this is having impact on their programs.<\/p>\n Phil:\u00a0<\/strong>What are some of the common trends on how enterprises are working in this space David?<\/span><\/p>\n David:\u00a0<\/strong>There is a growing understanding of the foundational role of data in digital success. That\u2019s reflected in big money being laid out. The $35b of D&D revenue we estimate the 13 service providers in our report are now earning a year, represents between one quarter and 35% of the money enterprises spend with those service providers.<\/p>\n On average, that spend goes on technologies more focused on the early stages of the HFS OneOffice Data Cycle (exhibit included below). Across more than 14,000 enterprise clients, service providers indicated that the leading technology components in their data and decisions engagements are data optimization (55%) and integration (53%). The combination of integration and data optimization is foundational in the HFS OneOffice Emerging Tech Platform, and it is reflected in work in the enterprise.<\/p>\n After data is prepared and integrations are in place, enterprises and their partners seek to apply process intelligence (37%) and process orchestration (42%), rethinking the processes to get their data.<\/p>\n New clients are still arriving fresh to the D&D party in large numbers. Earlier arrivals are now moving beyond project-by-project operations and establishing closer partnerships with their service providers. How deals are getting done remains heavily dependent on traditional FTE and fixed-price agreements. That\u2019s something we expect to change.<\/p>\n The HFS OneOffice Data Cycle<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Phil:\u00a0<\/strong>David, what should leaders do as they move in 2022?<\/span><\/p>\n David:<\/strong>\u00a0If they aren\u2019t already investing in D&D, then this is a wake-up call. You really must get motoring and accelerate around the HFS OneOffice Data Cycle. Those who have started on their journeys should be rapidly building on their foundations with more automation and the application of AI to use data to anticipate market, employee and customer needs.<\/p>\n Learning from the last 18 months, leaders need their D&D service providers to become strategic partners, working closely with them and, crucially coming to them with a stream of new and relevant innovations. So, get creative with the deals you do. Contracts that place value on innovation-beyond-the-pitch \u2013 and measure it \u2013 will pay dividends.<\/p>\n Our OneOffice Services Top 10 series assesses the digital transformation capabilities of services providers across a trio of core enabling capabilities:<\/span><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.horsesforsources.com\/storage\/app\/uploads\/public\/618\/d55\/4e2\/618d554e292b9817097230.png\")
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