Industry Insights

Your peers voted! We're proud to present the top shared services & GBS presentations from Shared Services & Outsourcing Week (SSOW | March 2026).

Voted on by 200 shared services & GBS professionals, these presentations stood out amongst the crowd and cover the topics defining the industry right now, AI strategy, process orchestration, and building the operating model of the future:

• 🏭 Siemens (Eckard Eberle, CEO, Siemens Global Business Services) – Transformative Times: GBS Organizations Between New Requirements and the Race for Digitalization How one of the world's largest GBS organizations is building a holistic AI strategy without losing sight of productivity and value creation.
• 🤖 Stagwell Global (Nikki Rodgers, Chief Transformation Officer) – AI Kickstart: Practical Strategies for Emerging SSOs A 90-day roadmap for launching AI in an emerging shared services org and proving ROI fast.
• & more!

Ready to see what your peers are raving about? View the top SSOW presentations today →

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This interactive benchmarking workbook is your jump-start to 2026 readiness - built from hundreds of leaders across the shared services & GBS community. If you want to know what’s rising, what’s stalling, and where peers are placing their biggest bets next, this is the data to guide your roadmap. 

Here’s a real-time pulse on where the industry stands right now:

• Nearly 70% of SSOs are already shifting from transactional back-office work into customer-facing / decision-support roles - with another quarter actively considering it.
• Over 50% say their biggest business kudos now come from creating value, not cutting costs.
• GBS is becoming the AI engine of the enterprise: about one-third house GenAI/Agentic AI projects inside GBS, and another 24% run them through GBS-led Digital or Automation CoEs.
• 71% of organizations sit in the top GBS NPS tier (≥60) - a signal that internal experience is becoming a real differentiator for AI adoption and service scale.

The interactive benchmarking workbook explores four transformation priorities for shared services and GBS in 2026: scaling agentic AI and automation, shifting to experience-led service delivery, building AI-ready talent and skills, and proving enterprise value with next-gen benchmarks beyond cost savings.

Bottom line: this isn’t just another report - it’s a live benchmark of where shared services & GBS stands today, and where the industry is heading next. Claim your complimentary copy by filling out the form to the right and see exactly how your roadmap stacks up.

Want your copy emailed to you? Click here for your copy.

What are the biggest Shared Services & GBS trends shaping 2027?

The 2027 North America Shared Services & GBS Visual Analytics Workbook gives you the latest SSON Research & Analytics data on how GBS organizations are approaching Agentic AI, AI governance, workforce transformation, new operating models, enterprise orchestration, and value creation.

2027 Shared Services & GBS Benchmarks

🔐 75% identify data security and compliance as a top risk as GBS moves from FTE-heavy delivery toward Agentic AI.

🤖 43% have defined AI governance policies or early implementation underway, while just 1% report a fully integrated governance framework.

🌐 51% identify enterprise orchestration across functions and geographies as a critical GBS leadership competency for the next 3–5 years.

📈 58% report improved customer satisfaction as a value-creation outcome delivered by GBS in the past 24 months.

In just a few clicks, benchmark your organization, compare peer priorities, and see what's shaping the next GBS operating model.

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The 30-Year Evolution of Shared Services is a definitive research report examining how shared services and Global Business Services (GBS) evolved from transactional cost centers into intelligence-driven enterprise operating models.

Drawing on three decades of Shared Services & Outsourcing Network (SSON) archives and executive perspectives, it traces the key inflection points shaping today’s most searched priorities—from AI in shared services and GBS operating models to end-to-end process ownership and global delivery strategy.

What you’ll gain from this report:

✔️ A clear timeline of shared services evolution—from early SSCs to AI-enabled, enterprise-wide GBS

✔️ The 10 catalysts that redefined GBS, including governance, experience-led design, data, analytics, and agentic AI

✔️ Real-world case insights from pioneers like P&G, GE, Shell, Ford, American Express, ABB, and HP

✔️ Executive reflections from leaders at Siemens GBS, Allianz Services, Tesco Business Solutions, Mars, Iron Mountain, Carrier, NielsenIQ, and more

✔️ Practical benchmarks showing why certain shared services models scaled—and why others stalled

Whether you helped build shared services from the ground up or are shaping its next AI-native chapter, this report offers strategic context, peer insight, and lessons that remain highly relevant for today’s enterprise leaders navigating transformation.

Request your complimentary copy via email.

As Global Business Services evolves at record speed, scope expansion has become the key to unlocking enterprise-wide value beyond cost savings. This handbook unpacks the trends, strategies, frameworks, and real-world case studies shaping the next era of GBS maturity.

What You’ll Learn

• The biggest trends reshaping GBS: customer-centricity, tech-led transformation, and the shift from efficiency to value creation.
• Why scope expansion is essential to escaping the “1% improvement trap” and sustaining long-term business impact.
• Real examples of unconventional and high-value scope expansion, from clinical trial analytics to engineering services.
• Proven frameworks for securing buy-in, structuring transitions, and scaling new capabilities.

Modern GBS has outgrown its back-office roots, now it’s a strategic engine for growth, innovation, and customer experience. Claim your copy of the handbook today to learn how top organizations are redefining what’s possible. 

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88% of shared services professionals’ top strategic target in 2025 is optimizing cost and efficiency. But how are leading shared services centers (SSCs) getting there?

SSON Research & Analytics’ 2025 edition of The Handbook to Setting Up a Modern SSC is now available, offering valuable, peer-driven survey results and statistics that answer these critical questions.

Key Takeaways from the Report:

• Gain insights into the top strategic priorities for 2025 and how leading SSCs are addressing them.
• Compare your SSC’s performance with industry standards and identify areas for improvement.
• Learn how to align your SSC with broader enterprise goals through effective governance and communication.
• Consider your location strategy using a range of important factors from its infrastructure to its talent pool.
• Discover best practices with advice from leaders at Aon, Iron Mountain, Cox Automotive and more for selecting and standardizing high-impact processes to ensure global consistency and efficiency.
• Leverage the latest advancements in RPA, AI, and data analytics to enhance service delivery and operational efficiency.

Click here to have your copy emailed to you.