by Frank Casale

While sipping a cup of coffee in the lobby of the Hotel Intercontinental in NYC the morning after our 12th and final Outsourcing Roadshow for 2003, it became apparent that regardless of the city we visited or the size of the company that the attending executive represented, there was a consistent desire not only for information but to network with other outsourcers.

People wanted to know what others were doing. For some it was about learning new functions and processes to outsource.

For some, it was simply gaining confirmation that the approach they had taken was indeed the right one. Others seemed to agree with one member who said simply hearing about others' successes as well as struggles was therapy for him.


Either way, it seems as if the dot.com philosophy of content, community and commerce is going strong in our outsourcing community. People want to know what other people are doing, how they are doing it and how it is playing out. Now more than ever, considering all of the uncertainties in the marketplace and in the world.

This may account for the fact that our Outsourcing Index is one of the most popular documents that we publish each year. It has become a barometer ...a state of the marketplace for buyers, sellers and observers of this ever growing and ever challenging megatrend.

In this year's Sixth Annual Outsourcing Index, we surveyed 1,911 OI members to learn about their future outsourcing plans and their biggest concerns.

This is why it is very interesting to note that this year's theme—our winter issue of Outsourcing Essentials—concludes that buyers are now ready to spend.

As Richard Gamble notes, a majority of buyers report that they are currently at the earliest stage in the outsourcing process, suggesting they have yet to pull the trigger on a deal.

I would also like to wish Outsourcing Essentials a happy 1st birthday. Our objective last year was to create a quarterly publication that would help buyers of outsourcing services understand the key issues, trends and challenges that they confront daily, and then help them do their jobs better.

I would like to thank my team here at OI, specifically David Greenough and Stephen Taub, for making OI/OE a reality. In addition, I would like to thank members like you for your positive support and feedback as well as the advertisers for seeing OE as an effective way to communicate their message to the outsourcing marketplace.

Has OE helped you in 2003? What type of content, programs and/or tools can we bring to market to help you in 2004? Your feedback is extremely important to us.

Please email me at Fcasale@outsourcing.com to let us know what you think. After all we could use the therapy as well.

Have a happy and safe new year and stay tuned for several significant announcements in the coming weeks and months.

Sincerely,

Frank Casale