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New Research from TPI Shows Service Management & Governance Lagging in Europe


  • Survey of European CIOs finds few examples of excellence in SM&G

FRANKFURT and LONDON, July 13, 2009 ― TPI, the largest sourcing data and advisory firm in the world and a unit of Information Services Group Inc. (ISG) (N1ASDAQ: III, IIIIU, IIIIW), a leader in the information-based services industry, today released results of a survey showing that while many companies in Europe have recognized the need for world-class Service Management & Governance (SM&G), only a few are achieving excellence in managing cost, capability or capacity of their outsourcing engagements.

The survey ‘Are You Ready for the IT Service Management & Governance Challenges Ahead’, the first in-depth look at attitudes of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in Europe toward SM&G, was conducted by TPI between March and May 2009. The respondents were CIOs from a cross section of large commercial organizations in the region.

The survey found that after years of denial, executives have finally moved SM&G up their agenda. Many CIOs have established it at the heart of their operations, resulting in a far closer alignment with the business. However, while the majority of survey respondents said SM&G services now enjoy the support of their organisations’ most senior executives, they only rarely are deploying them at best-in-class levels, where business processes are defined, successfully implemented, regularly measured and improved over time. This is especially troubling in light of the critical role these services can play to control costs in the current economic environment while increasing flexibility and positioning companies for the business upturn.

“During these difficult economic times, CIOs in Europe are being asked to deliver end-to-end services that drive efficiency and meet business needs,” said Andrea Spiegelhoff, Director and Head of EMEA SM&G for TPI. “They recognise that SM&G can be a key differentiator and they have put in place specialist teams to make this happen. But they are truly at the beginning of their journeys.”

Among the survey’s most notable findings:

  • The majority of European CIOs are struggling to satisfy their internal customers, whilst service providers are only meeting, not exceeding, contractual standards.
  • The pressure on European CIOs to do more with less has never been stronger: More than 90 percent are already undergoing major change of some kind.
  • As European CIOs look to standardisation to improve performance and reduce costs and complexity, consolidation of applications and suppliers is a top priority.
  • Access to the right skills remains European CIOs’ greatest delivery challenge, though most expressed confidence that their employees had the right business, technical and relationship acumen.
  • Despite the link between headcount and costs, most European CIOs are dissatisfied with the size of their SM&G operations.

Said TPI’s Spiegelhoff: “The issues with organisation size, skills management and delivery highlighted by our survey clearly demonstrate that there is much focused work to be done before companies achieve the very best in provision of services, management of costs and return on investment. When it comes to SM&G, there’s tremendous room for improvement in Europe.”


About TPI
TPI, a unit of Information Services Group, Inc. (ISG) (NASDAQ:III, IIIIU, IIIIW), is the founder and innovator of the sourcing advisory industry, and the largest sourcing data and advisory firm in the world. We are expert at a broad range of business support functions and related research methodologies. Utilizing deep functional domain expertise and extensive practical experience, TPI’s accomplished industry experts collaborate with organizations to help them advance their business operations through the best combination of business process improvement, shared services, outsourcing and offshoring. In addition, TPI Momentum, a business unit of TPI, provides information and insights to outsourcing and offshoring service providers to help them provide enhanced services to their sourcing clients. For additional information, visit http://www.tpi.net.

About Information Services Group, Inc.
Information Services Group, Inc. (ISG) (NASDAQ:III, IIIIU, IIIIW) was founded in 2006 to build an industry-leading, high-growth, information-based services company by acquiring and growing businesses in advisory, data, business and media information services. In November 2007, the company acquired TPI, the largest independent sourcing advisory firm in the world. Based in Stamford, Conn., ISG has a proven leadership team with global experience in information-based services and a track record of creating significant value for shareowners, clients and employees. For more, visit http://www.informationsg.com.