strategy Archive

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

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,

Tech Mahindra has run the gauntlet of stabilizing after its acquisition of the corrupt-ridden Satyam. The fully integrated companies have a unified leadership team, the client base is satisfied and stable, and Tech Mahindra has a robust brand. The provider is now turning its focus to growth. When Satyam imploded through a well-documented set

A significant trend in the services world is that margins are coming down, and there is a lot of discussion today among industry players about how to improve margins. In an effort to arrest or slow this margin pressure, some providers are moving into programs to address the falling margins. There are a significant

There is increasing skepticism and cynicism in the customer ranks in the hyper-competitive environment of the services world. As a customer commented to me, “Providers are like snowflakes. They all think they are unique, but they look just like everybody else. And if you put them under pressure, they all become the same thing.”

Infosys made headlines recently, announcing the separation of its products, platforms and solutions (PPS) business into a subsidiary called Edgeverve Systems. It’s a bold move, but in many respects it makes sense. Here’s my take on the implications and potential net result of the spinout strategy. As I explained in an article in The

American country music artist Toby Keith’s hit song “I Want to talk about me” reminds me of a phenomenon in today’s services world — too many providers’ conversations with customers are unproductive. Service providers are very eager to grow their revenue in their existing accounts. As the market matures, this is clearly the fastest,

Many service providers are busy organizing along vertical industries and going to market with vertical solutions. As the services industry matures, it’s very clear that customers want to do business with companies that understand their industry. However, many providers find that verticalization doesn’t give them the growth acceleration they anticipated. So there are limits

In a recent blog I noted that there is a new wave of shared services activity. But don’t dismiss that news with an assumption that new starts in shared services just means taking a slice of business away from third-party service providers. Here are my tips for shifting this potential business loss to a

PwC announced last Friday that it completed its acquisition of Booz & Company — now named “Strategy&.” Why did Booz agree to be acquired and why did PwC want Booz? And what does this mean for the services industry? My opinion: It’s a bold move that has the signs of being a game-changer in