A combination of social media, information, mobile and cloud will have an impact on sourcing strategies in 2013 for businesses, according to a new report from Gartner.
The research firm advises sourcing managers to consider the opportunities and risks presented by blend of factors during re-evaluating sourcing options, delivery models and vendors.
Gartner vice president and distinguished analyst, Linda Cohen said, that social, information, mobile and cloud shouldn’t be considered in isolation when evaluating market forces.
"The convergence of these forces, which Gartner calls the Nexus of Forces, is what drives real business value," Cohen said.
"The Nexus of Forces converge in several ways: cloud, mobile and social solutions enable the distribution of information, social media usage and behavior drive mobile and information solutions, and cloud can be a foundation for information, social and mobile solutions," she added.
Gartner research vice president Frank Ridder said: "To benefit, sourcing managers must consider the influence of the convergence of the Nexus of Forces on the services sourcing life cycle of activities, rather than considering each factor as a separate trend."
About 50% of respondents were interested in considering a model based on public cloud for applications and were also willing to upgrade, replace or modernise over the next two years.
This could force sourcing managers to reassess sourcing authority techniques and contracting practices.
Modified mobile strategies, including bring your own device (BYOD) and mobile applications availability, are expected to increase IT service sourcing requirements as users seek new services, the report said.
