Sneak Preview: IDC's Outsourcing Forum Will Debut in Chicago September 11-12

Part of the IDC Outsourcing Forum Midwest Report

Midwest executives will have an excellent opportunity to learn how to take their outsourcing strategy to the next level next week, when IDC will bring their Outsourcing Forum to Chicago. Themed “Reinventing your business through BPO and ITO,” the Forum will feature speakers from Proctor & Gamble, Lucent, The Williams Companies, NiSource, Goodyear, Barry-Wehmiller and Hydro One Networks. In addition, world-class outsourcing providers such as Capgemini, IBM, Hewlett-Packard will offer practical advice, and several of IDC’s lead analysts will offer their insights.

I was able to catch up with event chairman Bob Welch, who previewed some of the Summit’s key themes. I also have information on a special registration deal.

IDC has covered outsourcing as a business practice for many years, and they launched the Outsourcing Forum in 2004. Since then, over 900 senior executives have participated. The Outsourcing Forum Midwest will address trends that are relevant to all industries, but it will have special tracks for manufacturing and utilities.

“The Forum will be as experiential as possible,” Bob remarked. “We want executives to gain practical advice from other senior managers who have had significant involvement with outsourcing.”

IDC is proud of its track record for combining hands-on practical experience with vision and future directions by synchronizing speakers from corporate and government outsourcing buyers, outsourcing providers and IDC analysts. In Chicago, there will be a significant focus on how to structure deals for success from a legal perspective as well.

Bob offered some thoughts about reinventing business using outsourcing:

• A key trend is expanding the focus from the back office to the front office. As companies gain experience, they are expanding the range of activities that they outsource. For instance, design and engineering in India is a focus for auto manufacturers. Pharma is shifting some research activity to India.
• Globalization is a key driver for transformation, especially in financial services and consumer products. Companies are very focused on BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) to develop new markets for their products and services, and they need to enter these new markets quickly. In many cases, they are looking to outsourcing to put infrastructure and business processes in place.
• Think of technology as an enabling infrastructure. Companies have been doing ITO for several years, and they are increasingly layering BPO processes on top of it.
• Buyers are looking for multifaceted deals that have a measurable impact on a business unit’s P&L. For example, a provider can leverage its strength in finance and accounting to do credit management and revenue management, which is a significant opportunity in health care.

If you would like to register at a preferred rate, download this invitation. In addition, Global Human Capital will be covering the conference and will feature detailed articles on particular tracks as well as trends and predictions.