We recently talked to Cognizant about two planned Salesforce-related acquisitions: Code Zero and EI Technologies, which the company announced in Q1 2020. Cognizant Strengthens Specialized Billing Capabilities with Code Zero Code Zero is a U.S. Salesforce CPQ and billing specialist with experience in providing services to manufacturing firms expanding their business from selling[...]

  In a new social distancing world, most traditional face-to-face customer service tasks have had to digitize quickly. This trend is not new, but for some processes, it required the adoption of emerging technology and different operational models. A prime example is customer premise visits by engineers for equipment installations, parts replacement, and technical support. For several y[...]

  As with all industries, utility companies are responding to the ever-changing requirements related to COVID-19. In this short blog, we take a look at the macro and value chain impacts of COVID-19 on the utilities industry, how utilities are adjusting their business and IT priorities, and how Infosys is supporting utilities in their ongoing response. Macro-level and value chai[...]

  Digital experience consulting has been a critical focus area for IT services clients over the last several years. NelsonHall estimates that digital experience consulting services revenues grew by 15.8% globally in 2019, and projects a CAGR of around 12% from 2021 through 2024, after the COVID-19 pandemic eases. However, with COVID-19 still spreading, digital transformation project[...]

  My initial research into Impact of COVID-19 on Recruitment Services: Vendor Perspective (March 2020) highlighted several stand-out dilemmas that client organizations face. Notably, some organizations need to continue hiring and the only way to do so is by embracing technology (sometimes reluctantly), enabling them to carry out recruitment steps remotely. Also, some sectors were rampi[...]

  Capgemini’s Sogeti recently introduced a new TMAP book, Quality for DevOps Teams., which is a direct successor to its TMAP NEXT book published initially in 2016. TMAP NEXT has remained one of the methodology bibles that guide QA practitioners in structuring their testing projects. Sogeti has added regular updates around agile/scrum development, IoT, and digital testing that [...]

  NelsonHall recently published a new U.S. SMB Payroll Services marketing analysis specifically focused on how HR service and technology providers are meeting the increasing demand for technology-based payroll and HR solutions from emerging small-mid sized businesses (<250 employees). The SMB picture Payroll services adoption remains steady amongst buyers of all sizes and stil[...]

  This is an update on my last blog on the impact of COVID-19 on the financial services industry. Since then, I have interviewed many more industry executives both at banks and at operations services vendors. Industry responses are still muted, but clear signs are emerging that banks will be focused on prioritizing those activities which maintain continuity and support adaptation [...]

  We recently talked to Shishank Gupta, the practice head of Infosys Validation Services (IVS), about how the practice is adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing economic crisis. Of course, the initial focus has been on employee health, helping clients, and enabling its employees to work from home, getting access to tools, applications, and connectivity. The QA practice i[...]

  One of the memes during the COVID-19 crisis asks ‘who led the digital transformation of your company?’ with the options of ‘the CEO’, ‘the CTO’, or ‘the virus’. The global emergency has severely impacted CX, forcing many organizations to shut down or limit their contact center operations when they are most needed. A side effect is that,[...]

  NelsonHall predicts that by 2022, 35% of insurance industry carriers will be in the process of adopting AI technology across multiple use cases within the enterprise. This is based on NelsonHall survey data from the insurance industry that tracks adoption of both RPA and AI (NLP/ML/DL) technology across the property & casualty, health insurance, and life & annuities insurance[...]

  High employee attrition rates are the norm in contact centers, with companies maintaining a constant recruitment, training, and onboarding pipeline. As generations X, Y, and Z come to represent the majority of the workforce, these new workers have different career aspirations, work values, and learning styles. For CX services providers with global delivery networks and demand for spe[...]

    The recent OnePlace2020 digital conference was an opportunity for Benefitfocus to launch its 2020 strategy and to increase awareness of the benefits marketplace. Its vision is to improve lives with benefits, timely in light of the current global pandemic. Ray August, President and CEO, shed light on the fact that health care costs per employee have grown faster than wa[...]

  NelsonHall was recently invited to present at NASSCOM Technology & Leadership Forum 2020, one of my last foreign trips for some time, I suspect. While in India, in addition to presenting, participating on panels and conducting interviews, we had an opportunity to sit down with leaders from across the IT services landscape as well as venture beyond the Grand Hyatt Mumbai to delive[...]

  COVID-19 is impacting banking operations and, as a consequence, related business process services (BPS). Banks are already restructuring operations to address the emerging challenges from COVID-19 (see below for those challenges). The changes are just beginning and will continue to evolve over at least the next four months. While the global adaptation to COVID-19 will take much longe[...]

  Ultimate Software recently held its annual Ultimate Connections client event in Las Vegas, drawing over 4.5k client and partner attendees from across the UltiPro HCM ecosystem. Attendees’ interest had been piqued by the announcement a few days before that Hellman & Friedman-owned Ultimate Software and Kronos plan to merge, forming one of the largest global cloud technology [...]

  User experience and user interface (UX/UI) consulting and design has traditionally been focused primarily on external, customer-facing web properties. However, the scope and focus of experience design services has expanded as companies realize design thinking and experience-centric design has greater applicability than solely in interfacing with users. In this vlog, David McIntire pr[...]

  We recently had an update from NTT DATA regarding its Salesforce services activities across the different countries it operates in. At a global level, the company’s priority is to scale up its Salesforce services capabilities, with recruitment as a priority. Salesforce keeps making horizontal M&As at a fast pace while verticalizing its software products. NTT DATA is mirr[...]

  As businesses brace for the effects of the Covid-19 virus, one direct impact is already happening: the mandatory shift to work-at-home (WAH) in China created the world’s biggest remote working experiment. In CX services, this health hazard is putting the WAH model top of mind for both providers and clients. While virtual work has been gaining traction in the last few years, thi[...]

  As a “Gen-Xer” I look back over my career and can identify four out of ten organizations that had an incredibly positive influence on my life. What made that 40% stand out was that, despite economic market forces, technological change, evolving customer/consumer habits, and skills shortages (as new technical jobs evolved), they successfully adapted to change. They also ev[...]