IDC IT Executive Programs Launches Vendor & Sourcing Management Practice

The International Data Corporation (IDC’s) IT Executive Programs (IEP) on Thursday announced the launch of the Vendor and Sourcing Management (VSM) practice, under the leadership of Rajeev Agarwal, vice president, Research.

The new research, advisory, and benchmarking service will examine the ever-growing external IT spend on vendors and suppliers ranging from hardware, software, and services.

The goal of the new service is to provide in-depth coverage of VSM topics including vendor selection, contracting, pricing, governance, performance management, automation, and managing transformative initiatives with external suppliers.

According to IDC’s US Vertical IT Budget Benchmarking survey, two thirds of IT spend by enterprise-class organizations is external, and two thirds of CIOs seek partnerships with external suppliers to jointly develop and drive innovative initiatives.

Moreover, migration from 2nd Platform to 3rd Platform technologies (social media, mobility, big data and analytics, and cloud) further increases reliance on external vendors and suppliers.

With this in mind, IDC asserts that all organizations must recognize VSM as a core capability embedded within all levels of their organization.

“Vendor and sourcing management is undergoing a significant transformation. The goal with this new service is to help our clients manage and design this core capability and understand how to derive real value,” said Rajeev Agarwal, vice president of Research for IDC’s IT Executive Programs. “Globalization of IT and related services, combined with the rapid adoption of 3rd Platform technologies, requires that organizations continuously improve not only performance attributes like price, quality, and timeliness but also develop capabilities to integrate deliveries from existing and new 3rd Platform suppliers.”