Outsource Issue 23 - (Page 56)

This issue: View From The Top; puBLiC proCuremeNT; iNNoVATioN; eVeNTs reView & CALeNDAr View From The Top The NOA Chairman on what lies ahead for outsourcing in the UK and beyond over the rest of 2011. elcome to the NOA section of Outsource’s first edition of 2011. The start of a new year is traditionally a time to look ahead, and the coming pages will be exploring some of the trends and topics we expect to see dominating the headlines over the coming months. But who will be the main winners and losers in 2011? Perhaps the most predictable area where we’ll see activity in the coming year is the public sector. The coalition government has attempted to redesign how our public services are run in order to make them more cost-effective. The decentralisation of governmental powers has meant that local authorities must also engage further with communities, social enterprises and the private sector more effectively if they are to succeed. The Chancellor has also told councils to ask if non-essential services can be provided by a third party, thus helping to sustain services but reduce costs. The sector’s ability to cut costs by traditional means, such as staff cuts, is limited, so sourcing and shared service arrangements should come only as a matter of course. Many councils have already begun making the cuts, and we are sure to see a large number of local authorities outsourcing services, as part of the government’s cost-cutting measures. Another growth area this year will be cloud. Cloud brings together trends in both technology and IT operations and with both business and IT decision-makers expecting to allocate 30% of their IT budgets to the cloud over the next five years, this could be W its outsourCing head, it seems obvious that the Country Will forge a ‘loCal’ presenCe and potentially purChase a major outsourCer in europe China ❛With rearing sloWly ❜ the year that we finally see industry as a whole embracing this technology. For those who are suspicious of the cloud, and perhaps see it as a threat, I would suggest that it can instead be an enabler, which complements tried and trusted outsourcing models. As awareness of the cloud as a business platform increases and as the functioning feasibility of the cloud is confirmed through increased adoption by businesses, we should see the cloud serving as an additional driver for further growth in the outsourcing space – with more service providers adding cloud-based elements to their offerings. 2011 should also see economic and political phenomena contributing to the popularity of larger suppliers. If the troubles in the Middle East and New Zealand at the moment illustrate anything it’s that larger suppliers with a presence in multiple locations will prove much more popular, due to the reduced risk of disruption because of political unrest or even natural disaster. Finally, we should see China’s outsourcing industry progressively closing the gap between itself and the perennial leader India. With China slowly rearing its outsourcing head, it seems obvious that the country will forge a ‘local’ presence and potentially purchase a major outsourcer in Europe. World domination is not quite a reality for them just yet, but it’s unquestionably on the horizon – which can only be bad news for the likes of India. Perhaps, however, the biggest challenge faced by everyone in the sourcing community over the next 12 months will be keeping pace with the changes we’ll see in the industry. The NOA will be using its steering committees, events, research and much more to help all those in sourcing meet these challenges headon, and keep everyone informed of the latest developments. As always, for more information on the NOA and its activities visit www.noa.co.uk or contact us at admin@noa.co.uk or at 020 7292 8686. Martyn Hart, Chairman, National Outsourcing Association (NOA) To find out more about the NOA visit www.noa.co.uk 56 www.outsourcemagazine.co.uk ●●● http://www.noa.co.uk http://www.noa.co.uk http://www.noa.co.uk http://www.outsourcemagazine.co.uk

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Outsource Issue 23

Outsource Issue 23
Contents
News & Comment
IT Security
Ian Collard
More Than Just A Headcount
Call Centre Technology
Social Issues
Understanding Value
Cutting Through The Noise
All In The Genes?
It’s Time For Contact Centres To Get Socially Responsible
Right From The Start
All In The Game
Relationship Management Centres
NOA Roundup
Document Management
Digital Vision
Review Ructions
Provider Perspective
A New Reckoning?
Head-to-Head
The Music of Outsourcing
Accelerating Innovation
Labour Arbitrage
Top Ten Tips
The Legal View
HfS: New outsource Partner
Online Round-Up
Sourcebites
Inside Source
The Last Word

Outsource Issue 23