Key excerpts: Professional Services in the Next Decade
Signs that the world is moving to a service and knowledge-driven economy are all around us. The manufacturing-driven industrial complex of the 20th century has been replaced by a technology-enabled, knowledge and project-oriented workplace. Computers and technology have streamlined most of the “hard” manufacturing/production processes leaving innovation and service as primary sources of differentiation. With this shift, the human capital-driven professional service economy has surged to more than $4 trillion in global revenues – with annual growth surpassing almost all other sectors. This trend will continue propelled by technology which enables skilled knowledge workers to produce and export services from wherever high-speed internet connections are available. This shift means the professional services market is in a very exciting, yet challenging, time in its existence.
For PSOs to succeed in the next decade, it will take a combination of thought leadership, superior personnel, efficient business processes and excellent client skills. To support these areas the underlying information infrastructure must be designed to support growth and flexibility, providing decision-makers with real-time, comprehensive information to monitor and improve performance.