Welcome to Networking 2.0 – HfS and SIG are moving the needle for the sourcing industry

The biggest issue in today’s sourcing industry is the need for a truly independent and high-value environment for sourcing and outsourcing practitioners to collaborate and share knowledge.

The type of environment where buyers and industry folks can meet with each other, share their pain and success, access research, knowledge and data, and have the coaching, education and the advice they need to help their organizations cope with one of the most complex issues facing them today – how to source value from their global business operations.

At HfS, we’ve been micro-focused on helping the sourcing industry get past the puff and fluff to help them access and share research, knowledge and best practices, ideas and views. Oh – and have a bit of fun at the same time.

Today, we are delighted to announce an exclusive industry partnership with the premier membership organization that has served sourcing and outsourcing professionals from Global 1000 companies throughout a 20-year history:  the  Sourcing Interests Group.

Having personally been associated with SIG for many years and attended many of their events, it has always set itself apart as a venue where senior practitioners feel comfortable sharing their experiences and knowledge.  The quality of their events, the detailed effort to develop superior content, debate and speaking line-ups, and its “family” atmosphere has always stood-out.  You always came away wanting to be part of the SIG family and planned for their next gathering, as opposed to that “one off” feeling you get at so many other industry gatherings today.

And when their dynamo leader, Dawn Evans, took over the organization a couple of years ago, you could immediately sense the renewed energy and determination within the organization to establish SIG as an innovative networking environment.

So what does this partnership mean?

* SIG’s members have access to HfS Research’s extensive published research and knowledge. HfS has a prolific library of published research covering business process outsourcing (BPO), information technology outsourcing (ITO), cloud business services, shared services and governance strategies in addition to deep coverage of industry trends across financial services, manufacturing, utilities, energy, healthcare, retail and media sectors. HfS’ service provider performance evaluations, pricing strategies, market forecasts and sourcing best practices will also be available to SIG members.

* SIG will host the HfS 25 Sourcing Executive Council during its Global Leadership Summit in Seattle this October. The “HfS 25” is our exclusive research network of leading buy-side sourcing practitioners who meet regularly to share knowledge and experience to help shape the future direction of the sourcing industry.  SIG provides the right type of professional environment for our council members to meet a broad network of sourcing practitioners and industry-side executives.

* Other benefits of the partnership include analyst time for members at SIG events, HfS research presentations, workshops and state-of-the-industry discussions at SIG events, and SIG member webinars led by HfS analysts.

Bottom-line:  The sourcing industry now has the collaborative environment it has craved. Together, the SIG and HfS teams are providing the collaborative vehicle where sourcing executives can meet, collaborate and extend their learnings – both physically and from their PCs. This is Networking 2.0 –  the new collaborative environment where the sourcing industry can create some value for itself – that is sticky, ongoing, self-perpetuating and educational.

We’ll see you all at 2011 SIG Global Sourcing Summit, March 15-17 on beautiful Amelia Island in Florida. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to register today. HfS COO Esteban Herrera will be one of the many speakers at the summit, which features a keynote by Steve Forbes, Chairman of Forbes Media and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Magazine. We look forward to great year with SIG and many more to come after that.

We have always enjoyed your interaction at support at HfS and are excited to involve so many of your with our broader networking family.  Stay tuned for many new ways you can all get involved.  I want to personally welcome Dawn Evans and her great team to the HfS family.

Posted in : Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Captives and Shared Services Strategies, Finance and Accounting, Financial Services Sourcing Strategies, Healthcare and Outsourcing, horses-for-sources-company-news, HR Outsourcing, HR Strategy, IT Outsourcing / IT Services, kpo-analytics, Outsourcing Events, Procurement and Supply Chain, SaaS, PaaS, IaaS and BPaaS, Social Networking, Sourcing Best Practises, sourcing-change