In recent years, ISG Research shows outsourcing contracts have consistently gotten smaller in value and shorter in duration. In this environment, are traditional benchmarks still relevant? Specifically, should enterprises invest the resources to undertake a detailed, rigorous analysis of pricing and service levels halfway through a contract, if the contract value is relatively small and the term is relatively short? Moreover, with an increasingly higher volume of contracts in the mix, don’t CIOs risk getting bogged down by conducting too many benchmarks?
While market conditions are changing dramatically, benchmarks have similarly evolved and continue to deliver significant value when properly managed. Both clients and providers have matured in their approaches to benchmarking, specifically in terms of viewing the exercise as a collaborative and mutually beneficial process. Automation, moreover, is having a dramatic impact on benchmarking capabilities by enabling real-time data collection and continual assessments of performance.
This ISG white paper examines the changing role of benchmarking in the context of recent market trends and increasingly dynamic business requirements.
About the author
Kathy Rudy
Kathy Rudy is Chief Data and Analytics Officer of ISG and a member of the ISG Executive Board. She was named to this post in January 2020. Kathy is responsible for the development of ISG data solutions and platforms to deliver new and even more valuable insights to our clients, as part of the overall ISG Platform strategy. She is working across the firm to enhance our data products, develop data-driven consulting assets, and increase our go-to-market effectiveness. Throughout her 20 years with the firm, Kathy has supported hundreds of client organizations as they leverage data to drive greater efficiency and effectiveness in their IT operations, build measurement programs and support critical sourcing decisions. She was responsible for the development of ISG Inform™, the firm’s next-generation data-as-a-service platform solution, launched in 2019. Before joining ISG in 2000, Kathy, a graduate of Michigan State University, was part of the Unisys team that managed the transition from internally delivered IT services to an outsourced environment for the City of Chicago.
