NEW YORK, NY and PARIS--(Marketwire - Jul 6, 2011) - HfS Research (http://www.HfSResearch.com), the leading research analyst firm covering global outsourcing and business services strategies, today announced the appointment of Robert McNeill as Research Vice President for its new Cloud Business Services research practice. McNeill's cutting-edge research into Cloud Computing-enabled services is in high demand from HfS Research's 55,000-strong readership base -- the largest organically grown social network in the business and technology services industry.
After coining the term "Cloud Business Services" last year (see report), which focuses on the integration of Cloud Computing technology, SaaS and Business Process Outsourcing, HfS Research today officially launches the industry's first research practice dedicated purely to these integrated business utility services, under Robert McNeill's leadership.
McNeill's prime focus at HfS Research is delivering research, thought-leadership, practical advice, and imparting real-world Cloud services experience to buy-side clients and service providers on what really matters -- how to execute Cloud business strategy in a manner that creates real business value. McNeill will examine the industry dynamics driving business utility solutions, as the boundaries between Cloud Computing, Business Process Outsourcing and IT infrastructure services continue to blur. He will be developing the Cloud Business Services Index™ (CBSi™), which will assess the capabilities of leading service providers to deliver and execute Cloud computing-enabled business services for clients.
Commenting on his appointment, McNeill, said, "HfS Research has consistently proven that it is ahead of the analyst curve for serving up quality cutting-edge research that is relevant to industry stakeholders. It provides the only innovative social-research platform to develop insightful, rapid and realistic coverage of Cloud Business Services for today's services industry. I am thrilled to be part of this exciting and fast-growing global research organization."
Prior to joining HfS Research, McNeill worked for analyst firm Forrester Research and also managed outsourcing advisory engagements for leading global organizations at Deloitte Consulting. In addition, he served on the management team for the rapidly-growing Cloud/SaaS IT management start-up, Service-now.com.
Most recently, he was a research Vice President for Saugatuck Technology, a research and consulting firm focused on SaaS and Cloud Computing. There, his work was centered on BPaaS (Business-Process-as-a-Service), Cloud Business Services, and Cloud/IT Management, in addition to general outsourcing issues.
HfS Founder and CEO, Phil Fersht, added, "We believe the potential of Cloud to evolve service delivery is massive, especially for business functions that can benefit greatly from best-in-class process standardization and meeting compliance requirements. We're delighted to have a key industry figure of the caliber of Robert McNeill lead this research area for us."
As HfS Research and the Outsourcing Unit at the London School of Economics recently revealed with the largest-ever study undertaken on Cloud Business Services, both IT and Business leaders are already planning to devote at least 10-20% of their budgets going into Cloud services in the medium-term (see http://hfsresear.ch/cloud-business-services).
About HfS Research
HfS Research (www.HfSResearch.com) is the foremost research analyst firm and social networking community, focused on helping enterprises make complex decisions with their business process operations, IT outsourcing and shared services strategies. It has the largest audience and regular following in today's global sourcing industry.
With 55,000 subscribers, HfS Research provides the most impactful and frequently-visited global collaborative community platform in the global services industry, providing rapid and insightful commentary, analysis and debate of enterprise outsourcing and shared services dynamics. The organization is unique in the fact that it integrates personable social networking with market research and expert advisory services.
The HfS Research mission is to provide a unique environment for collective research, opinion, experience and knowledge across the global outsourcing industry to help enterprises explore new performance thresholds. Led by industry expert Phil Fersht, the HfS Research team is a multi-disciplinary group of analysts across North America, Europe and Asia/Pacific regions, with deep domain knowledge in business process outsourcing, information technology services and cloud business services.
Launched in 2007, HfS Research's acclaimed blog Horses for Sources has more than 120,000 monthly visitors across the global outsourcing industry, and is widely recognized as the leading destination for collective insight, research and open debate of industry issues and developments. The HfS LinkedIn community, The BPO and Offshoring Best Practices Forum, is thriving with over 13,200 industry professionals sharing views and information daily. You can access information about HfS at HfSResearch.com and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/horses4sources.
To learn more about HfS Research, please email research@HfSResearch.com.