The GS100 Survey : Where Do We Go From Here?
This is the time of the year that we usually call for participation in the GS100 survey. I have been getting mails from many service providers inquiring about the survey and its timeline.
Here’s the news: Global Services has decided to push the survey out by one quarter. Hence, the survey would open in January 2010 and the results would be announced sometime in May 2010.
One good reason for doing this is that the survey requires information about financial performance for the calendar year. And with an October survey, we end up with either estimates or no information at all.
But that’s not the only reason. We are looking at revamping the survey, expanding the scope, tweaking the methodology, and advancing its relevance to the marketplace. We cannot do this without feedback from the service provider as well as services buyer community.
A few other surveys rank and list global IT services and BPO providers. Unless these surveys are based only on quantitative measures, which usually means using a variety of financial parameters, like the Fortune500 listing, there is no way to ensure that they are strictly objective. However, for a specialized industry like ours, basing the survey purely on financial metrics would inhibit the scope and may even render the survey irrelevant.
We also know that asking for too much quantitative information may not be the answer. Already, for our previous GS100 surveys, we have been using over 200 data points per service provider in the survey, which gives us the reason to believe that our survey is one of the more objective surveys in the market. But more data does not necessarily mean better results.
We do have several alternative models in mind, but some feedback and debate is honestly appreciated. It will only help improve our efforts. The broad goal for this survey is to recognize the leaders who power the growth of the industry and at the same time recognize pockets of excellence that strengthens its impact.
Do write in here with your thoughts and ideas or email me at <ed@cybermedia.co.in>
Inorganic initiatives is one parameter that is mostly overlooked. Initiating community meetups, academic support, industry participation and CSR that goes beyond signing a cheque for an NGO!