A Shift is Happening in Business Services – and Outsourcing is No Longer Center Stage

A shift is happening in Business Services – and Outsourcing is no longer center stage Listening to the chatter among nearly 800 practitioners of the Shared Services (though let’s call it "Business Services") and Outsourcing world at our flagship event in Orlando last week, it became abundantly clear that what’s happening in this space is nothing short of revolutionary. There’s been a tremendous tug of war going on between two opposing forces: Innovation on the one side (supported by business intelligence, technology, and the folks embracing SMAC [social media, analytics, and cloud]) and Efficiency on the other (supported by the well-known leads from the cost side). While you could never go as far as to say that cost has lost – what’s clear is that "innovation" is pulling ahead. So what does it mean? Simply this: the "old" world was about wage arbitrage, lifting and shifting, and governance. The "new" world is about business intelligence and smart partnering to make the most of costly technology already developed by providers, and to gather up and deploy the powerful forces of SMAC. The number of presentations this year that talked about how Business Services were collaborating with data management groups, and how BPO relationships were turning into examples of industry best practices, far outweighed the traditional cost-focused discussions of the past. What’s emerged is this: if your impact is only on cost, your model won’t last (and, perhaps, neither will you). The "New Normal" is overwhelmingly about cementing smart partnerships with providers; leveraging their know-how and technology; and doing more to get analytical- and expertise-based value-add out of your onshore staff. In two months we’ll be running our annual European event (this time in the beautiful city of Prague). It will be interesting to see whether the shifts in the North American market are reflected there, and whether BPO providers are offering customers a new "menu." [inlinead]

A Shift is Happening in Business Services – and Outsourcing is No Longer Center Stage

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