- Search
Category: the-industry-speaks
Double-Dip Dynamics, Part I: 70% of buyers are sitting on the fence with their outsourcing plans in the current climate
Our new study that covered the intentions and observations of 534 buyers, advisors and providers with their sourcing strategies in the event of a "Double-Dip" Recession reveals one major shift in the industry: most buyers now recognize what their businesses need to improve to drive productivity, they simply are struggling to figure out how to marshall their internal and external resources to help them get there.Read More
Too many providers and advisors are being myopic with their clients and failing to understand their business pressures
Our latest study shows that many buyer executives are, in actuality, in violent disagreement with many provider and sourcing advisor executives that they their business leaders are too “short-term focused”Read More
Cheap and quick please! Wizening buyers are seeking help from easily-accessible sources
When we ask them buyers they're foraging for help and information with outsourcing strategy-making in the coming months, the results are simple: they are turning to whatever sourcing are most easily-accessible and inexpensively-available to themRead More
The undisputed facts about outsourcing, Part 8: Industries experiencing secular change have more aggressive outsourcing plans
Those organizations being impacted by radical, fundamental shifts to their very industry economics, are more prepared than ever to admit they need to look outside of their current organization boundaries to keep their business operations cost-competitive. Simply-put, secular change crystallizes options for businesses and the outsourcing planning process often becomes more clear-cut as a result.Read More
Will a Double-Dip Recession reverse the trend of buyers “delaying outsourcing” during a slump? Here are 10 factors to consider…
Organizations have always been wary of outsourcing during recessions. While today it delivers cost-reduction to clients in spades (proven emphatically during our recent state-of-outsourcing study), many organizations have proven, in the past, to push it down the priority-list of radical cost-reduction measures, when they fear for their very existence. However, with the threat of a "Double-Dip" recession very much a grim reality, HfS believes this cycle is likely to be broken.Read More
The undisputed facts about outsourcing, Part 7: Service-culture is the new differentiator
We asked a cross-section of buyers with significant influence over outsourcing decisions, to reveal the critical attributes they seek in a provider. At the same time, we asked providers what attributes they believe their clients deem critical. And - guess what - their are significant gaps between what clients want and what providers think they want.Read More
The undisputed facts about outsourcing, Part 6: Europeans love money, but hate change
What's driving outsourcing decision-making across the world? HfS Research's new study on global outsourcing adoption reveals some key regional differencesRead More
Listen to Cassandra when it comes to sourcing change management
Earlier this year, HfS Research leveraged its vast network of global enterprises to solicit the opinions of buyers and providers of outsourcing attempting to understand how they view the role and importants of change management for outsourcing engagements. The web based survey was completed by 237 respondents with 96 buyers and 141 service providers.Read More
The undisputed facts about outsourcing, Part 5: Decision-makers increasingly reliant on peer-networking and research than traditional channels
In the past, outsourcing was still a unique, foreign and scary activity, and it was always easier for buy-side executives to bring in consultants to make their decisions for them - especially as there were so few trusted data-points and information sources widely available in the industry to support decision-making. Executives didn't want to get fired for making bad decisions. However, today they know they'll get fired for the wrong decision regardless of who made it - whether it was theirs' or McKinsey'sRead More
The undisputed facts about outsourcing, Part 4: Mid-market buyers are enjoying better outsourcing outcomes than enterprises
Outsourcing of IT and business process has always been a game for large enterprises, where well-executed large-scale employee transitions have resulted in profitable endeavors for both providers and buyers. But while the large buyers like saving the money, it’s actually mid-market sector ($1bn-$3bn revenues) which is getting a lot more out of the experienceRead More
