The Disruptors Make Their Mark

Just a few years ago, the apocalyptic four horsemen of SMAC disruption – social, mobile, analytics and cloud – were still on the distant horizon; something to keep an eye on, certainly, but not an immediate priority and not something to take immediate action on.

Times have changed. Today, SMAC technologies are rapidly and decisively transforming the outsourcing landscape.  Clients are becoming increasingly enthusiastic and willing to embrace solutions that until recently were too risky to even consider.

Consider cloud computing: according to the ISG Outsourcing Index, the percentage of ISG-advised outsourcing contracts with a cloud component grew from 1 percent in 2009 to 23 percent in 2012. Even more telling are the results of an ISG provider survey, which found that 85 percent of respondents’ pipeline opportunities contained a cloud component.

What’s driving this change?

• Momentum from successes/early adapters?
• Better understanding by clients of the technologies?
• Better articulation by providers of the solutions?

Another emerging challenge lies in finding ways for disruptors and traditional providers to find ways to collaborate to manage increasingly complex IT ecosystems. With operations characterized by multiple SaaS and IaaS solutions, multi-cloud management and Service Integration and Management (SIAM) models are becoming critical components of a management strategy.

I’ll be facilitating a panel discussion at the 2013 ISG Sourcing Industry Conference, September 9th-10th in Dallas. Panelists will include executives from established disruptor companies as well as smaller firms making their mark.

About the author

As a partner and member of the Executive Board, Mr. Hall leads ISG’s Digital Strategy and all ISG Service Lines for the Americas. He also leads ISG’s Alliance group and is ISG’s Executive Sponsor to the TBM Council. During his time with ISG, Mr. Hall has led some of the company’s largest and most complex engagements with clients as diverse as United Airlines, Symantec, BP, World Bank, CEMEX and Motorola. He is a seasoned professional who brings considerable experience in emerging technologies to ISG clients. Prior to his position at ISG, Mr. Hall held senior roles at a number of renowned IT services companies, including Unisys and MCI. He also led large-scale eBusiness initiatives for technology solutions providers C-Bridge and CBSI and gained deep outsourcing and offshore software development experience as a delivery executive with Covansys. Mr. Hall co-authored Managing Global Development Risk: A Guide to Managing Global Software Development. He earned his degree in Computer Science from Regis University.