Category: IT Services

Salesforce and IQVIA’s Partnership – A Match Made in Heaven? | Blog

June 3, 2024

What impact will Salesforce’s upcoming global partnership with IQVIA have? Get the expert view here, or get in touch to understand how this significant move in the life sciences CRM sector might impact your business.

Once again, the winds of change are blowing in the life sciences CRM landscape. The usual suspect, Salesforce, has announced its strategic global partnership with IQVIA to enhance the capabilities of its Life Sciences Cloud.

This is noteworthy, more so in the backdrop of the Veeva and Salesforce separation in 2022, where Veeva fully embraced its home-brewed offering, Veeva Vault. The Salesforce-IQVIA partnership marks a significant move in Salesforce’s commitment to delivering robust life sciences customer engagement solutions.

However, whether this move will truly propel Salesforce to the industry apex remains to be seen. Veeva has already established itself as the go-to solution for life sciences enterprises; on the other hand, Salesforce carries the baggage of being a jack-of-all-trades, master of some in the customer engagement arena. The hiring of Frank Defesche – a former Veeva executive – by Salesforce to lead its life sciences division is one of several initiatives that drives home the point that the battle for market leadership is going to be fierce.

Key takeaways of the Salesforce-IQVIA partnership

  • In this expanded partnership, IQVIA licenses its OCE software to Salesforce, accelerating the development of Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud for customer engagement that is slated for release in 2025
  • IQVIA will continue to market the OCE product and support its nearly 400 global OCE customers in over 130 countries up until 2029
  • IQVIA will collaborate with Salesforce to jointly market the new offering, with System Integrator (SI) partnerships being leveraged to provide support services (data migration, maintenance, etc.) for OCE customers

Clash of the CRM titans: potential prospects and pitfalls of the expanded partnership

Historically, Veeva has been at loggerheads with both CRM incumbents: IQVIA (Veeva’s Antitrust Lawsuit against IQVIA) and Salesforce (halting its partnership with Salesforce Cloud). However, currently, IQVIA and Salesforce have allied to confront the Customer Engagement Platform (CEP) market. This partnership brings forth several prospects and pitfalls, as illustrated in the exhibit below:

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Prospects: While IQVIA continues to lead the market in life sciences data management, it faces formidable competition from Veeva. However, the recent collaboration between IQVIA and Salesforce has fostered innovation and equipped Salesforce with data management expertise to leverage. Furthermore, this partnership extends Salesforce’s customer engagement market influence by granting access to IQVIA’s clientele. By integrating the data and analytics of IQVIA with the powerful CEP of Salesforce, the partnership promises a holistic overview of customer interaction and insights. This potential end-to-end, industry-specific solution will go on to streamline operations and efficiency through integrated systems and workflows.

Pitfalls: As the IQVIA-Salesforce transition gradually unfolds until 2029, they will encounter increased expenses for training, upskilling, onboarding, and more operational processes. Integrating existing legacy systems with the new IQVIA-Salesforce solutions will be challenging. Changing the status-quo will require a relook at data privacy and regulatory compliance by enterprises, which can be quite resource-intensive. The partnership also adds an uncertainty variable, as transitioning from the existing CRM may lead to concerns around the overall impact on business operations and workflows. As enterprises transition to the new system, there will be a risk of data migration, system downtime, and a potential loss to business. Currently, the Salesforce customer engagement platform is distinguished by its premium licensing fees, which might further increase due to the ongoing partnership. While this presents opportunities for SIs for project management endeavors, the new Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud should still demonstrate its value.

Amid the transition journey, the selection of appropriate SI will be paramount

The world of CRM is seeing a gigantic wave of customer-centricity, and service providers who still hold on to horizontal approaches will be swept under it. The days of a one-size-fits-all solution are over; now, enterprises seek solutions that can withstand the ever-changing dynamics of the market with technological and operational flexibility. Service providers must look beyond consultation and implementation by taking up change management initiatives that deliver long-term value for their clients. They are expected to stay abreast of the latest developments, and provide solutions tailored to the unique needs of enterprises.

Service providers will play a critical role in strategic consulting, data migration, implementation, customization, and ongoing support to ensure smooth transitions for enterprises adopting new customer engagement systems. It can cash in on these opportunities by monetizing various aspects of the collaboration, as elaborated below:

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Enterprises face a trilemma

Enterprises are weighing their options carefully as the life sciences CRM market continues to evolve in its trajectory. The three broad options for enterprises are as follows:

  • Adopt Salesforce’s Life Sciences Cloud: Enterprises may choose to be early adopters of Salesforce’s Life Sciences Cloud, embracing the perfect blend of IQVIA’s life sciences expertise and Salesforce’s customer engagement platform capabilities. This option promises a transformative engagement platform with enhanced data integration so that enterprises can leverage the best of both worlds
  • Shift to Veeva Vault: Enterprises familiar with Veeva’s industry-specific solutions may adopt the Veeva Vault for its proven capability. This option provides stability and continuity given Veeva’s deep industry focus and comprehensive suite of offerings, including closed-loop marketing, built-in compliance, and data-driven suggestions
  • Explore budding alternatives (such as TrueBlue, Exeevo, etc.): Enterprises that are open to experimentation, such as alternatives like TrueBlue and Exeevo, make for an interesting proposition. The emergent life sciences CEP players offer a fresh perspective with an emphasis on agility and customer-centricity. Compatibility, scalability, and support are some of the factors that are essential to evaluate for maximizing the value of CEP investment

Implication of the partnership to the broader CRM narrative

This partnership signifies the eventual departure of IQVIA from the competition by the decade’s end, leaving only two dominant incumbents, Veeva and Salesforce, in the market. Presently, Veeva commands the lion’s share of the life sciences CRM market, but this landscape is expected to evolve in the years ahead. Additional implications within the CRM market are depicted in the exhibit below:

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Is this the start of happily ever after for the industry?

With the life sciences commercial landscape evolving consistently and the ongoing evolution of Generative AI technology, the pace of innovation is frenetic within the life sciences industry. This rapid progress is also giving rise to a new wave of specialized providers catering to niche needs. Consequently, enterprises must continuously assess the evolving landscape of commercial technology offerings and augment their tech infrastructure accordingly.

If you have questions about the life sciences IQVIA’s extended partnership with Salesforce or would like to discuss developments in the life sciences commercial space, please reach out to [email protected] or [email protected] or [email protected]. For a deeper understanding of the shift to next-gen customer products in the life sciences sector, read our blog.

Watch our discussion on the critical shift from CRM ecosystems to CX platforms in our session, Key Insights: The Evolving Commercial Technology Landscape in Life Sciences.

Decoding the EU AI Act: What it Means for Financial Services Firms | Blog

May 24, 2024

How will the EU AI Act impact the financial services sector, and how should enterprises and service providers structure their compliance activities? Read on to learn about what this new legislation means for financial services firms looking to implement AI tools, or get in touch to understand the direct impact on your specific business.

In recent years, the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence — in particular, generative AI — have revolutionized various sectors, including financial services. Technology giants such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta have heavily invested in developing AI models and tools. However, this unprecedented growth has also raised concerns about the potential risks associated with the unchecked use of AI, prompting the need for regulations to ensure the responsible development and deployment of these powerful technologies.

Recognizing the urgency of the situation, the European Union has taken a proactive step by introducing the AI Act, a pioneering piece of legislation that aims to establish a comprehensive framework for the development and use of trustworthy AI systems. The Act adopts a risk-based approach, categorizing AI systems into four distinct levels:

  • Unacceptable risk – Systems deemed a serious threat, such as predictive policing, real-time biometric identification systems, and social scoring and ranking are banned
  • High-risk – Systems with potential to harm people or fundamental rights, such as AI-powered credit assessments, require strict adherence to new rules regarding risk management, data training, transparency, cybersecurity, and testing. These systems need to register with a central EU database before distribution
  • Limited risk – Systems posing minimal risk, such as chatbots, need to comply with “limited transparency obligations,” such as labeling AI-generated content
  • Low or minimal risk – While not mandated, the Act encourages providers to follow a code of conduct similar to high-risk systems for market conformity

The AI Act and financial services

The financial services industry heavily relies on AI, from personalized banking experiences to fraud detection. The high-risk applications especially require financial institutions to prioritize the following:

  • Continuous risk management – Focus on health, safety, and rights throughout the AI lifecycle, including regular updates, documentation, and stakeholder engagement
  • Comprehensible documentation – Maintain clear, up-to-date technical documentation for high-risk systems, including characteristics, algorithms, data processes, risk management plans, and automatic event logging
  • Human oversight and transparency – Maintain human oversight throughout the AI lifecycle and ensure clear and understandable explanations of AI decisions
  • Rigorous governance – Implement robust governance practices to prevent discrimination and ensure compliance with data protection laws
  • Fundamental rights impact assessment – Conduct thorough assessments to identify and mitigate potential risks to fundamental rights
  • Data quality and bias detection – Ensure training and testing datasets are representative, accurate, and free of bias to prevent adverse impacts
  • System performance and security – Ensure consistent performance, accuracy, robustness, and cybersecurity throughout the lifecycle of high-risk AI systems

To align with the EU AI Act, enterprises must take a structured approach. First, they should develop a comprehensive compliance framework to manage AI risks, ensure adherence to the Act, and implement risk mitigation strategies. Next, they need to take inventory of existing AI assets like models, tools, and systems, classifying each into the four risk categories outlined by the Act. Crucially, a cross-functional team should be formed to oversee AI risk management, drive compliance efforts, and execute mitigation plans across the organization. By taking these steps, enterprises can future-proof their AI initiatives while upholding the standards set forth by the landmark regulation.

Final Everest Group Decoding the EU AI Act What it means for financial services
Opportunities for service providers

  • AI governance expertise – Service providers can offer expertise in building and implementing AI governance frameworks that comply with the EU AI Act. This includes developing policies, procedures, and tools for responsible AI development and deployment
  • Data management solutions – Service providers can assist financial institutions in managing their data effectively for AI purposes. This includes data cleaning, labeling, and ensuring data quality and compliance
  • Large Language Model operations (LLMops) – As financial institutions explore the use of Large Language Models (LLMs), service providers can provide expertise in LLMOps, which encompasses the processes for deploying, managing, and monitoring LLMs
  • Use case classification & risk management – Service providers can help financial institutions classify their AI use cases according to the EU AI Act’s risk framework, and develop appropriate risk management strategies
  • Quality Management System (QMS) – Implement a robust QMS to ensure the AI systems consistently meet the Act’s requirements and other emerging regulatory standards

The road ahead

As the AI Act progresses through the legislative process, financial institutions and service providers must proactively prepare for the upcoming changes. This includes conducting AI asset inventories, classifying AI systems based on risk levels, assigning responsibility for compliance, and establishing robust frameworks for AI risk management. Service providers will play a crucial role in supporting financial institutions in their compliance efforts.

To learn more about the EU AI Act and how to achieve compliance with the regulations, contact Ronak Doshi, [email protected], Kriti Seth, [email protected] and Laqshay Gupta, [email protected]. Understand how we can assist in managing AI implementation and compliance, or download our report on revolutionizing BFSI workflows using Gen AI.

The Future of the Wealth Management Industry: The S-curve Shift and the Modernization Opportunity | Blog

May 24, 2024

The wealth management industry has evolved over the years, transitioning from reputation-driven models to technology-led advisory services. Read on to uncover how wealth management firms can develop a digital blueprint to navigate the next digital frontier and better serve their clients in an increasingly hybrid and personalized landscape. Get in touch to discuss further.

In our earlier blog, How Technology Can Help the Wealth Management Industry Navigate Coming Changes in 2023, we discussed how digital disruptions will impact the wealth management industry and the role technology and service providers can play in helping wealth management firms navigate the choppy waters ahead. Continuing with our two-part blog series in the wealth management space, this blog will touch upon how this industry has transitioned through the different eras and how we are now on the cusp of a new digital future. The current question is, what will the digital blueprint be to help wealth management firms be better prepared for this new normal?

Wealth management eras – is the industry undergoing another S-curve shift?

The wealth management industry has witnessed several s-curve shifts in the past and has evolved from being a reputation-driven business to a technology-led advisory model. We are now witnessing the next inflection point, moving from persona- to person-based personalization through the hybrid trust model. The initial journey of the wealth management industry was about family-based offices and reputation-driven businesses. It was all about having the right intimacy with the client, nurturing the exclusivity, and delivering that strong advisory model. It was driven by large systems of records, but experience remained bespoke and in-person.

After this era, the wave of customer expansion hit with the emergence of mass affluent customers. It became less about serving HNIs and UHNIs and more about capturing the mass affluent segment that demanded access to similar asset classes and WM strategies as HNWI and institutional investors, which led to the rise of robo-advisory models to democratize access to these services. Enterprises wanted to serve this new segment better in a cost-effective model that could help them meet their margin targets as well. This led to rapid technological disruption in the wealth management industry and pushed us into the digital advisory model that we are currently in. We saw this in the case of UBS in late 2022 with the launch of WE.UBS, a digital wealth platform for mass affluent clients in China in partnership with technology provider Tencent.

Currently, we can see that enterprises are focusing on developing a hybrid trust model. In this model, they utilize emerging technologies such as AI to transform end-to-end customer journeys and give their clients access to new products such as digital assets, ESG-linked investments, and overall financial wellness services. This could be seen in action a couple of years ago when HSBC introduced HSBC Prism Advisory in Asia, blending face-to-face and digital interactions in private banking. This service leverages BlackRock’s Aladdin Wealth™ technology, combining data analytics with HSBC advisors’ expertise.

Another notable example is when Citi announced its plan last year to utilize AI as a tool to simplify and automate procedures, enabling private bankers to dedicate more time to client service.

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However, the top-of-mind questions are “Are we nearing the end of this era?” and “Is there a new world order coming for the wealth management industry?” This space has already seen a rapid expansion of products to cater to different customer segments, but now enterprises need to provide assistance to customers in navigating the buying experience while creating trust in a model that is now both human and digital. The wealth management industry has multiple siloed channels where the human-assisted channel enables great advice, but as soon as it moves to digital channels, the level of experience starts getting non-uniform and disjointed. Customers often talk about a lack of contextualization as they interact on such channels.

Psychographic segmentation – can it fix what is broken?

Hyperpersonalization has become one of the key focus areas as wealth management firms are trying to drive competitive differentiation in the current macroeconomic landscape. The emerging client segment, comprising of millennials and Gen Z investors, expects tailored services as per their preferences and values seamless experiences across both digital and human advisory channels. In light of these demands, we see the approach towards hyper-personalization shifting from demographic-based to a more psychographic-based segmentation.

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Enterprises are now moving away from utilizing broader aspects such as age, gender, occupation, and location to create different personas and are utilizing individual personality traits such as lifestyle, attitudes, beliefs, interests, and values to create unique experiences for clients. This strategy promises to be especially effective in captivating and retaining young investors, a highly desirable client demographic poised to emerge as a lucrative segment amid the intergenerational transfer of wealth spanning diverse geographic regions. To embark on this journey, HSBC recently partnered with a European consulting firm, Zühlke, to revamp its mobile wealth management services for UK clients. Zühlke’s experts conducted a study on the investment preferences of British customers, providing insights that enabled HSBC to tailor its services to better meet their needs.

To excel in this approach, enterprises must possess the necessary technology to seamlessly monitor, acquire, and leverage customer data in real time, empowering them to dynamically create personalized experiences with agility and scalability. They need to establish trust with their customers so that they feel comfortable in sharing this private personality traits-related data, which can eventually lead to personalization-led value creation and drive customer delight. In late 2023, Morgan Stanley announced plans to roll out a gen AI bot for its HNWI clients that will provide functionalities such as summarizing a meeting, drafting a follow-up email for suggested next steps, updating the bank’s sales database, scheduling a follow-up appointment, and acquiring knowledge to aid advisers in managing clients’ finances, covering aspects like taxes, retirement savings, and inheritances.

Future of wealth – can the roots of a modular core system power the tree of wealth?

As enterprises embark on this experience innovation journey, it is important for them to have the underlying technology stack to support the industrialized delivery of these data-driven experiences at scale. Currently, they are facing challenges in establishing digital workflows as most of them still have the legacy architecture consisting of Excel spreadsheets and siloed data systems, which makes streamlined data management and analysis difficult.

They are increasingly looking at leveraging cloud-based data management systems that can help them optimize their IT infrastructure costs and improve their ability to process structured and unstructured customer data in real time and at scale. We also saw that a few months ago, Northern Trust collaborated with Finbourne Technology, a UK-based data solutions provider, to adopt its cloud-native data management solution. This partnership aims to modernize Northern Trust’s technology by offering cost-effective and scalable data calculation and processing, enabling near real-time delivery of valuations and other crucial data to clients.

Integrating the cloud into their business and technology operations will also help them roll out new features quickly and keep up with the constantly changing customer demands. In this process of driving data and intelligence in their operations, one of the key focus areas for enterprises is prioritizing and sequencing this migration of workloads to the cloud across the various elements in the wealth management value chain. They want to identify the quick wins that would have the maximum impact while having lesser complexity associated with the transition.

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The wealth tree, as seen in the graphic, is what we believe the future of wealth would look like. The fruits and leaves represent wealth for end customers by creating customer delight through innovative products and personalized experiences. This was seen in action in early 2024 when Kinecta Federal Credit Union announced a strategic partnership with cloud-based wealth management solutions provider FusionIQ to enhance its digital investing services by leveraging the platform’s features, such as digital advice, self-directed investing, and other financial well-being solutions. Also, in 2023, J.P. Morgan partnered with TIFIN to launch TIFIN.AI, aiming to accelerate AI-powered fintech innovation in wealth management. This initiative includes using AI for client portfolio insights for advisors, alternative investing, workplace wealth management, and insurance, among other applications.

In this world of personalized experiences, customers want to feel trusted and safe with wealth enterprises as they enable these multi-channel experiences. They want customers to be able to invest in alternative assets and grow their wealth as wealth management enterprises orchestrate all of it.

As enterprises think about this, they want to be compliant and provide a secure and protected environment. There is a need to have a core system that is modular, composable, and automated. There needs to be a lot more API enablement, which can be continuously optimized in terms of the infrastructure and the applications that are running on top of it. To industrialize the data-driven personalization engine, the core system needs to enable it in a trusted, safe, and secured manner so the security aspect becomes paramount. The two big enablers to this journey will be running operations and having data on the cloud.

In the journey to build out this wealth tree, all ecosystem players, from wealth managers and technology providers to service providers, will have a role to play and a different journey to traverse.

We would be interested to hear about your journey in this evolution. Please feel free to reach out to Ronak Doshi, [email protected], Kriti Gupta, [email protected], or Pooja Mantri, [email protected] to discuss further.

Watch the webinar, Transforming to Thrive: Building Winning Operating Models Amid Disruption Across Industries, to learn how enterprises should think about disruptive changes as they go about their transformation agenda.

Services Industry Growth is Bottoming Out, but How Much Does It Matter? | Blog

May 22, 2024

The latest Forces & Foresight™ research by Everest Group highlights the beginning of a turnaround in the services industry’s growth. However, the significance of this recovery is unexciting, as balancing forces exist that both impede and support industry growth. How a service provider aligns with the right set of forces will become key to competitive success. Read on to learn about the necessitating strategic foresight and tailored approaches for industry players to thrive in the post-downturn landscape.

In my last blog, Driving Factors for IT Services Recovery in 2024: Insights from Everest Group’s Forces & Foresight™ Research, I highlighted three forces fueling our services industry growth turnaround foresight. We are seeing more points of evidence validating those. Let’s revisit these forces and their progression:

  1. Stabilizing base – We spoke about seeing a pause in deteriorating demand trends. The turnaround in growth (see Exhibit 1) and forward-looking views of service providers validate this thesis
  1. Fixing revenue leakage – We noted signs of stabilization in leakage, such as bookings not commensurate with revenue. While the differential still exists, we are seeing more confidence in service providers. Almost all the growth guidance estimates are dependent on the booked business translating to revenue over the next 12 months
  1. Pockets of additional growth – As previously highlighted, cybersecurity, ER&D, and data and analytics continue to thrive. For instance, cyber security players like Zscaler have surpassed expectations, leading to upward revenue projections

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Turnaround is a given, but does it really matter so much?

As we outline our growth outlook in the next Forces & Foresight edition, we roll forward our forecasts to the next 12 months (ending March 2025). From this analysis, we have narrowed down two convictions:

  1. The IT services industry will see a turnaround in growth
  2. In the absence of an extraordinary event, we expect the magnitude and speed of this turnaround to be “unexciting” (unlike comebacks in previous downturns)

 

The reason for this unexciting recovery is that the magnitudes of industry forces, supporting and impeding the industry growth, are roughly equal, as portrayed in Exhibit 2.

Exhibit 2

Forces impeding services industry growth Forces supporting services industry growth
Over-influence of macro sentiments on services spend

Spend cautiousness will impact quick and big pickup in major segments like BFSI despite any signs of turnaround

Enterprise confidence levels are still far from promising pickup in discretionary spend

Elongated durations of large contracts don’t allow for high ACV contributions

 

 North America is showing recovery, driven by a notable turnaround in Hi-Tech spend resilience in the public sector and energy

Less matured geos are playing a strong role in the industry growth contribution

The new wave of productivity demand is providing better avenues vs. strict cost-cutting on volume and pricing

Newer revenue streams are playing out (e.g., net expansion in GIC-generated revenue)

Our inference from the balance of these forces is that, while the positives will outdo the negatives, the latter are sticky and emerge from a somewhat changing psychology of demand – a topic we are consciously tracking. This stickiness negates a euphoric pickup in services industry growth, which was observed in previous downturns (we presented these in our previous blog).

As we mentioned, the industry will be an interesting mix of performance of segments and providers based on their portfolios and part of trajectories. Simply put, segments and providers that could be at a higher risk of longer recovery cycles are the ones with heavier exposures to (a) discretionary revenue, (b) negative geo-specific dynamics, and (c) non-flexible delivery and commercial models.

Things are not so straightforward

The devil lies in details. Every segment has its own set of near-term palpable possibilities as well as challenges. Take the example of banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI). On the one hand, it is the most severely impacted segment (Exhibit 3), with the future seemingly still tied to economic events like rate cuts. On the other hand, we are seeing signs of tech spend pickups by banks. For example, tech and comms spend by major banks is on the rise, and small deals are picking up in BFSI, as evidenced by small service providers’ performances in this segment. See Exhibits 4 and 5.

In our Forces and Foresight research, we are conducting a detailed analysis on each of the major geo and vertical segments with the aim of uncovering the not-so-obvious aspects that contribute significantly to their forward-looking direction of growth. We are also linking those to segment and industry-wide forecasts.

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Implications for market participants

One would need to work harder to earn their position coming out of this downturn, as industry forces will be less kind than in previous downturns.

A (somewhat) naïve implication for service providers would be to put focus on high-growth potential areas of services. We call it naïve because portfolio changes and decisions can’t be made overnight, leave apart the actual portfolio change. Coming out of this downturn, a well-defined playbook will be instrumental in navigating these changes. A simplistic model could include steps such as:

  1. Classification of parts of portfolios (verticals, capabilities, geos, customer size, and type of deals) by demand recovery cycles
  2. Sales focus on the quick recovery segments and immediate results-generating areas (like GICs)
  3. Having account-specific playbooks – mining vs. new accounts
  4. Investment focus on longer-term (but promising) recovery areas

 

Such playbooks have been the reason why every downturn creates a distinct separation between the new set of winners and the rest of the industry. And with the unique set of challenges associated with this downturn, the winners will need to work much harder than before. Learn more about Forces & Foresight™, or reach out to Prashant Shukla to discuss further at [email protected].

The Future of Cybersecurity: Key Takeaways from RSA Conference 2024 | Blog

May 21, 2024

Discover the pivotal moments of RSA Conference 2024 in San Francisco, where AI’s transformative potential took center stage alongside the rise of cybersecurity platformization and the urgent focus on industrial security. Read on to uncover the conference’s highlights and how AI may shape the future of cyber-protection.

Like most years, the city of San Francisco came to life with the annual RSA Conference, held at Moscone Center from May 6 – 9. This time, it saw 40,000+ attendees, with hundreds of exhibitors both at the conference expo floor and in and around the Moscone Center. The city of San Francisco also ensured a smooth experience for visitors moving around the conference areas. Let’s explore the key highlights from the conference.

Art of AI possible

The theme of RSA Conference 2024 was the “art of the possible,” and it truly lived up to its tagline with a variety of AI-possible use cases and applications in cybersecurity demonstrated in large scale. There is increasingly more chatter and buzz from vendors about everything being AI-powered, AI-orchestrated, and AI-delivered. Most vendors are leveraging AI to enhance their capabilities, and at the same time, there are vendors who are positioning their existing offerings to secure the LLMs/AI. Again, at this point, all conversations are about AI governance, and not a single vendor solution exists that can completely secure the model, applications, data, and infrastructure for the AI era.

Everest Group’s recent interactions with enterprise clients demonstrate that AI adoption is still very early, with most enterprises still in the wait-and-watch state. We have built a framework to evaluate AI-driven gains in cybersecurity, which helps enterprises select the right use case for cybersecurity adoption. Learn more about the framework.

Ushering the platformization era in cybersecurity

The platform story in cybersecurity is gaining further momentum, and we’re seeing vendors expanding capabilities centered around their core offerings. As enterprises pivot preferences from best-of-breed to easy-to-integrate, the platform narrative will get stronger. We also see large system integrators building platforms to enable service delivery. Learn more about the key traits of successful platforms.

Industrial and critical infrastructure remain top of mind

Almost all the conversations with system integrators strongly focused on operational technology (OT) security, which clearly is a high-opportunity area across different industries such as manufacturing, energy & utilities, and critical infrastructure (water, pipeline, etc). The enterprise’s realization that the IT-OT air gap is no longer existent and the lack of security controls in their legacy OT systems requires fortification has driven demand for OT security solution providers. To learn more about OT providers and products, Everest Group analyzed nine global OT security technology providers and featured them on the Operational Technology (OT) Security Products PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2023.

Focused partnerships and alliances

We notice the partner and alliances ecosystem evolving between system integrators and technology vendors. A slew of announcements by technology vendors shows intent to be deeply entrenched with SIs and drive joint market outcomes. Further, we see system integrators picking and choosing partnership preferences and categorizing technology vendors across three main categories and having different market perceptions. Learn more about the three categories and service providers’ perceptions.

Role of Government in shaping regulation and cybersecurity

The US federal government agencies, FBI, CISA, and Homeland Security, have been regular participants at the RSAC conference in the past. This time, the highlight of the conference was the keynote from US Secretary of State Anthony J Bilken. This strong presence at a top cybersecurity conference highlights the US government’s urgency on cybersecurity and its role in driving cybersecurity investments. Further, CISA’s latest “secure by design” initiative has seen signatures from 68+ technology vendors, including Microsoft, Google, Cisco, AWS, and IBM, which is a voluntary commitment to “make a good-faith effort to work towards” seven goals within a year of signing the pledge and show measurable progress on the goals. CISA plans to recruit more volunteers and monitor the progress of all signatories at next year’s RSAC conference.

The current cybersecurity landscape is more complex than ever, with threat actors not leaving any respite for government agencies, technology vendors, system integrators, and other ecosystem participants. It is yet to be seen who will emerge victorious in this race to be cyber-protected. It could be that AI-led security outcomes will help determine the winner.

Learn more about the cybersecurity landscape or to ask questions, reach out to Abhishek Singh at [email protected] and Kumar Avijit at [email protected].

Navigating the Shift to Next-Gen Customer Engagement Technology Products in the Life Sciences Sector | Blog

April 26, 2024

Life sciences enterprises are undergoing a generational shift, transitioning from outdated legacy customer relationship management (CRM) systems to modern Customer Experience Platforms (CXP). Discover the three emerging customer engagement layers in these platforms, the readiness of enterprises to adopt the latest solutions, and the factors to consider when selecting customer engagement technology in this blog. Reach out to us to discuss this topic further.

In the rapidly evolving life sciences landscape, a significant and crucial transformation is underway as companies move from traditional CRM systems to cutting-edge CXP. Let’s explore this further.

As illustrated below, the life sciences CXP technology architecture has two distinctive foundational structures: CRM and next-gen customer engagement management.

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In the widespread realm of next-gen customer engagement management, the following three main customer engagement layers are emerging:

  • End-to-end content management: These tools provide features to enable intelligent content management across the entire content lifecycle, including automated and modular content creation, cognitive-capabilities-powered digital asset management (DAM), content distribution recommendations, real-time content analytics, dynamic libraries, and third-party integrations
  • Engagement channel optimization: Tools that manage all channel types (digital and non-digital) with CX-focused capabilities, including dynamic recommendations based on customer behavior analysis (personas), ideal content-channel combinations, third-party messenger integrations (including regional requirements), and channel analytics
  • Commercial learning and training: Embedded platform features to enable complete learning experience management (preferably covering the entire commercial function), including smart assistant-led training navigation, multi-format training modules, and personalized learning journeys

Enterprise adoption priority

The pandemic has reshaped customer engagement channels, resulting in a diverse blend of traditional communication methods (face-to-face, phone, text, conferences) and digital channels (video calls, webinars, Healthcare Professional Portals).

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This shift has made it essential for enterprises to adopt an efficient channel management system. As a result, engagement channel optimization has become the most demanded module in next-gen customer engagement management, followed closely by content management and learning and training.

While the life sciences commercial segment is synonymous with sales and marketing, it also includes other vital functions such as medical affairs, market access, and patient services. However, not all functions within the commercial segment are equally equipped to adopt these tools.

The overall maturity of the necessary technology, data architecture availability, and optimal processes vary significantly by function. These factors will influence platform and tool selection decisions as illustrated below:

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Customer engagement technology platform sourcing factors 

Enterprises looking to make sourcing decisions for next-gen customer engagement platforms and tools have moved beyond considering pricing as the sole or major driving factor. They are looking at platforms and tools that offer a better user experience and a flexible technology stack that seamlessly integrates into existing systems.

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“We prioritize how the platform fits with the existing enterprise tools and how well they work with current enterprise CRM and incorporate enhancements that come from them. Additionally, geographic infrastructure to provide support in global adoption, ease of working with the provider, and the price are the key criteria for selecting the provider.”

 – Director, Content Strategy and Operations, Large Pharmaceutical Company

“Our top sourcing considerations include ease of use for all stakeholders, user friendly and intuitive design, how well it integrates with other platforms, cost for implementation and the licensing fees, and product enhancements included in the fee or for small service fees.”

– Global CRM Lead, Global Life Sciences Enterprise

Outlook for the life sciences landscape

With enterprise objectives constantly shifting and generative AI technology continuously evolving, the innovation pace on the supply side is equally frenetic. Commercial technology players are swiftly rolling out highly tailored solutions in the life sciences industry. This rapid progress also gives rise to a new wave of specialized providers catering to niche needs. Consequently, enterprises must continuously assess the evolving landscape of commercial technology offerings and enhance their tech infrastructure accordingly.

To discuss customer engagement technology trends in life sciences or other developments in this space (especially after the Veeva-Salesforce announced split), contact [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected].

Watch our LinkedIn Live session, Key Insights: The Evolving Commercial Technology Landscape in Life Sciences, to learn more about the critical shift from CRM ecosystems to CX platforms and the next-gen technologies poised to deliver personalized CX.

The Rise of AI Developers – How Devin and other Autonomous AI Agents will Reshape Software Development | Blog

April 26, 2024

Cognition AI’s Devin and other autonomous AI agents are poised to revolutionize software development. Read on to explore Devin’s features and benefits, the impact of AI developers on IT services delivery, and the challenges that accome with moving into the age of intelligent software development. Reach out to learn more about this topic.

The world of software development is on the cusp of a paradigm shift. Cognition AI’s launch of Devin, the first fully autonomous AI software engineer, marks a significant leap forward in AI capabilities. Devin and other AI agents promise to transform how software is built and profoundly impact the IT services industry. Let’s explore this further.

What can Devin do?

Devin is different from your average coding assistant. This AI agent can independently plan, execute, and complete complex software engineering tasks. For example, if Devin were given a problem statement to build a website with specific functionalities, it would:

Craft a step-by-step plan: Break the project down into manageable tasks, considering factors like technology stack, user interface design, and API integrations.

Develop the software: Write code, handle errors, and build the core functionality using tools familiar to human engineers, such as code editors and debuggers.

Deploy the solution: Deploy the website it built on a server and ensure user accessibility.

This level of autonomy is groundbreaking. While Devin might still require human oversight for complex projects or strategic decisions, its ability to handle entire workflows independently opens a new frontier in software development.

What does it mean for software development?

The advent of Devin AI marks a significant leap in the software development process. This transformative technology heralds a future where AI can undertake intricate coding tasks, driving numerous benefits.

Below are some potential benefits of AI developers:

Increased Productivity: Repetitive tasks like coding basic functionalities or fixing bugs can be automated, freeing human developers for more creative and strategic work.

Reduced Development Time: AI handling of routine tasks can significantly shorten development cycles, allowing companies to bring products to market faster.

Democratization of Development: AI tools could empower non-programmers to build basic applications, fostering innovation and citizen development.

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Concerns with AI developers

However, it is important to remember that Devin AI doesn’t have all the answers yet, and many unknowns must be addressed. Below are a few concerns surrounding Devin AI:

Infrastructure Requirements: The infrastructure required to run Devin may prove to be a limiting factor for its adoption.

Security and Compliance: Security, governance, and regulatory compliance factors can significantly influence the applicability of Devin across use cases.

Pricing Uncertainty: Cognition has not released any information about the potential price points for Devin AI.

What does it mean for the IT services industry?

The rise of AI developers presents both challenges and opportunities for the IT services industry that will affect the following dimensions:

Shifting Skillsets: Demand for traditional coding skills may decrease as AI handles routine tasks. However, the need for skilled professionals who can manage AI tools, design complex systems, and ensure security will rise.

Evolving Service Offerings: IT service providers must adapt their offerings to leverage AI development tools. This could involve offering AI-powered development platforms, AI integration services, and expertise in managing human-AI collaboration.

Focus on Consulting and Strategy: As the technical aspects become less labor-intensive, IT service providers can focus on higher-value services like consulting, project management, and providing strategic guidance on AI adoption.

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The road ahead

Devin’s arrival is just the beginning. As AI capabilities continue to advance, even more sophisticated development tools and agents will emerge. Leading IT services providers that embrace this change, invest in workforce reskilling, and leverage AI effectively will be well-positioned to thrive in the age of intelligent software development.

This shift will not be without its challenges. Ethical considerations about AI bias and potential job displacement need to be addressed. However, the potential benefits of AI development are undeniable. As we move forward, embracing collaboration and fostering a human-AI partnership will be crucial to unlocking the full potential of this exciting new frontier.

To share your thoughts and discuss our research on the future of software development and the rise of AI developers, please contact [email protected] or [email protected].

Watch the webinar, AI-driven Sourcing: Discover the Best-in-Class Features in Autonomous Sourcing Tools, for insights into the complex technology landscape of autonomous sourcing tools and the various functionalities autonomous sourcing tools offer across the sourcing workflow.

Boosting Project Readiness in Technology Talent: A Comprehensive Framework for Developing Project-Ready Workforce | Blog

April 26, 2024

To combat the technology talent shortage and improve project readiness, technology firms are investing in comprehensive initiatives across the talent management value chain, including learning and development platforms, niche partnerships, and other strategies. Explore how Everest Group’s 3A framework can help firms assess, acquire, and activate project-ready talent at scale. Reach out to speak with us further on this topic.

With rapid technological advancements and an acute specialized talent shortage, IT firms increasingly recognize the importance of developing technology talent internally. As a result, they have accelerated developing comprehensive learning and development (L&D) frameworks backed by robust tech-driven learning solutions to upskill/reskill technology talent. These strategic investments are aimed at ensuring future readiness and resilience to technology disruptions.

However, even after these focused L&D investments, organizations still struggle to build a sustainable pool of project-ready resources. According to the Talent Readiness for Next-generation IT Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2023, IT service providers reported the lack of project-ready resources as a critical barrier in building a future-ready workforce.

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Recent excessive hiring by technology firms has resulted in large benches with lower-quality talent unprepared to be deployed in client projects. Firms continuously train their benches on emerging and in-demand technologies while optimizing talent-sourcing strategies to improve project readiness, particularly in the entry-level talent pool. However, they still face several key bottlenecks in enhancing the project-readiness quotient, as illustrated below:

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Solving the project-readiness puzzle: The 3A framework focused on Assess-Acquire-Activate.

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  • Assess – Effectively assessing project readiness is as critical as embedding it in the L&D journey. Most technology firms lack a dedicated project readiness assessment framework. Developing a robust framework to evaluate and identify gaps in workforce project readiness is crucial.

The framework must be holistic and able to evaluate granular-level details specific to a particular role, project, and service line. It must include all skill types, including technical skills, domain expertise, cognitive and interpersonal skills, and related attributes such as proficiency level and experience.

Additionally, it’s critical to move beyond the conventional metrics of gauging project readiness, such as certifications and skill tags to digital readiness quotient.

“We have invested in an in-house tool designed for conducting technical assessments of trainees. Customized assessments are created in the tool based on the skill matrix, and trainees are evaluated using these assessments to assess their level of upskilling. The assessments include scenario-based and coding questions to evaluate conceptual and hands-on expertise of candidates.” – Leading IT service provider

  • Acquire – Leading organizations are strategically shifting their focus on developing technology talent at early stages. By adopting a train-hire-deploy talent acquisition model, companies aim to build project-ready pipelines. Here are some initiatives top firms are using to acquire project-ready resources:
    • Forming in-depth alliances with academic institutions to focus on building talent from the ground up through tailored learning content, internships, apprenticeships, dedicated courses, or degree programs targeted at industry-relevant and in-demand skills
    • Creating pre-onboarding programs with learning content and hands-on practice modules in simulated environments to prepare freshers for a streamlined transition and integration
    • Partnering with training firms to acquire specialized talent equipped with niche or next-generation skills

“We have an exclusive job program for individuals looking for full-time jobs after high school, thereby making them financially independent. This is a hybrid training program focusing on the overall education and personality grooming of students to make them job-ready.” – Leading Indian IT service provider

“We currently have seven master’s programs running across six premier institutes in India to channelize the talent generation in the IT industry. We have handstitched the curriculum interventions and provide internship opportunities to students, which eventually leads to conversion to FTE.” – Leading global system integrator

  • Activate – In addition to traditional learning interventions, firms should promote on-the-job learning opportunities such as peer learning forums, collaboration and knowledge-sharing platforms, and sessions to exchange expertise on niche topics, projects, accounts, and roles.

Further, firms can explore strategic partnerships with specialized technology providers to build and integrate tailored learning exercises into their L&D ecosystem. This may include hands-on projects that mimic real-world scenarios, customized simulated environments, and labs specific to particular use cases or industries.

“We partner with multiple providers of advanced-level technology programs who design and deliver training in boot camps as well as virtual instructor-led training (ILT) mode for training in higher order competencies. They also provide cloud labs along with the program, apart from personalized subject matter expert (SME) guidance. In fiscal year 2023, 33% of our deep-skilled learners were deployed in projects where they could use their new skills” – Leading Indian IT service provider

Following are some examples of the partnerships leveraged:

Technology Talent

Future outlook

The sharp decline in the project-readiness quotient of the workforce in recent times and the ever-evolving client expectations have led technology firms to take holistic measures to ensure they have sustainable pipelines of ready-to-deploy talent.

To effectively tackle the issue, firms must continue adopting proactive measures to enhance the project-readiness quotient. These approaches can include comprehensive assessment frameworks, optimized talent sourcing strategies, and establishing a balanced L&D ecosystem.

Firms with robust workforce strategies that strongly emphasize project readiness will   be better positioned to build and sustain scalable project-ready pipelines – giving them a competitive edge in the talent crisis.

To gain further insights into how leading service providers are transforming their workforce strategies to extensively focus on enhancing project readiness and technology talent, contact Arpita Dwivedi [email protected], Amit Anand [email protected], and Abhigyan Kumar [email protected].

Watch the webinar, Locations and Workforce Strategy 2024: Insights, Trends, and Key Priorities, for trends shaping 2024’s workforce and locations strategies.

Update On IT And BPO Service Providers Delivering From Ukraine | Blog

April 9, 2024

After a short time during the war between Russia and Ukraine, it became quickly apparent that the IT and BP BPO delivery centers in Ukraine and Russia would become obsolete. Companies using those third-party services would have to move the people in their captive units and replace those service provider partners. Although the timing differed from expectations, companies are not moving their global business services centers. Consequently, it affects services from other parts of the world.

Read more in my blog on Forbes
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