Thought Leadership Archive

A Rose by Any Other Name

Shakespeare said a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. However, what the eternal bard did not say but easily could have is that it would not have sold as well. The rose that’s catching fire now in the marketplace is as-a-service offerings. But service providers are confusing the market. As-a-service offerings

Service Providers Struggle Using Big Data and Analytics to Drive Growth

Observing service providers’ much talked about efforts to provide new levels of value and create new growth opportunities through big data and analytics reminds me of a quote often attributed to Yogi Berra, the great NY Yankees coach. “In theory it’s simple, in practice it isn’t.” Yogi captures, as only he can, the timeless

IBM Positioning for Dominance in Future of Infrastructure Services

I recently had the privilege to sit through a two-day session with IBM’s senior executive team in services. I’m someone who tries not to drink the Kool-Aid. Even so, I came away truly impressed by the work that IBM has done to position itself to be relevant and a major player in the future

Surprising Strong Profit Performance by Syntel and TCS Bodes Well for the Industry

The Q2 earnings reports for Syntel and TCS show not only a strong performance for both companies but, surprisingly, show stronger earnings growth than revenue growth. We’ve seen stronger earnings than revenue results with other providers in the past, but this is surprising. That’s because it reverses a trend the industry has been experiencing.

Accenture and IBM Playing from the Same Playbook in Shaping Their Future

Accenture appears to be picking up its pace of acquisitions and making a series of big moves. This is not a new tactic for Accenture; historically nearly every time you turned around there was another Accenture acquisition. But clearly the pace has quickened and the size of the acquisitions has increased. It’s important to

Why BPO Providers Are Disappointing Investors

Out of 22 outsourcing stocks, a few have outperformed the S&P to date this year: EXL Service, Global Payments, Star Tek and UEPS. But 18 have underperformed by an average of 9 percent so far. Why is this trend happening? First, investors are always forward looking, and stock disappointments or exuberance are relative to the

Impact of Canada’s Foreign Workers Program on Global Services

“Putting Canadians First” — the title on the document explaining changes to the nation’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program —makes the Canadian government’s intent clear. Canada is forging ahead with adjustment to its immigration policy. The result will increase costs for global service providers in two important dimensions. At this point, it’s now very unlikely

A Modest Proposal for Infosys

Much like Jonathan Swift proposed an outrageous, over-the-top suggestion that the Irish eat their children as a way to accommodate themselves in famine and over-population, I have a modest proposal for Infosys. It’s over the top, but it’s intended to highlight an issue. My modest proposal is that Infosys keep its platform IP business,

The Surprise in Mobile Services

Companies’ end-user compute budgets are flat to down. Yet they’re challenged by much more complexity in terms of many more devices. This is a surprising fact. There is an explosion of devices that need to be secured and managed and that are often paid for by the corporate enterprise. Why has the explosion of

EXL Positions Itself for Growth with Acquisition of Blue Slate

Earlier this month EXL acquired Blue Slate Solutions and positioned itself for growth through transformation services. But the move also reflects a broader industry move. Blue Slate is a consulting firm that drives operational transformation. The acquisition looks to be a move to buttress and increase EXL’s ability to add value to clients through