2019, like most years, is set to break all records in terms of the amount of global investment in Research & Development (R&D). Digitalisation, through the development of Robotics, RPA, AI, Big Data, Analytics and Blockchain is fuelling the growth in R&D and all evidence suggests that investment will continue to accelerate in the ensuing years.

To give one example, HFS Research predict that the global market for RPA software alone will reach $998m in 2018 and is expected to grow to $2.2bn by 2021, a compound annual growth rate of 54%. While not every technological advancement will see such a growth rate some might surpass it and others will be close. So, what is driving the acceleration?

In terms of what some are calling the digital revolution we’re about to hit the hotspot, and unlike other times in our global history, many more countries and continents around the world have joined this particular revolution at an early stage. According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, gross expenditure in R&D from North America and Western Europe, fell from 53% to 48% between 2009 and 2015. Over the same period gross expenditure from East Asia and The Pacific’s rose from 32% to 38%. Interestingly, this happened at a time when R&D expenditure, as a % of GDP grew in North America and Western Europe.

Governments, economists and business leaders from around the world now recognise the need to be at the heart of the digital revolution to ensure their place in the value chain. And that’s important not only in terms of national wealth but also in terms of the quality of life and future careers of their people. Creating the workforce of tomorrow is intrinsically linked to growth and with the potential of technology widening all the time, education is fighting to keep up.

The role of business enterprise

Funding from business enterprise continues to be a very important and the major contributor of investment in R&D. When looking at the world’s top ten leaders in R&D investment, around 70% of the total combined investments of the top ten come from the USA, China and Japan and between 70 and 80% of investment by those three countries is from business enterprise.*

Korea also make the list of top ten investors in R&D where business enterprise contributes close to 80% of R&D spend. In Germany, Russia, France and the UK the figure is lower, between 65 and 70%. The rest of R&D investment falling to governments, higher education and to a lesser degree the ‘not for profit’ sector.*

*The UNESCO Institute for Statistics ‘Global Investments in R&D 2019’ report covers the period of 2009-2015.

It isn’t possible at this stage to say exactly where we are in the overall digital revolution curve, but clearly it’s climbing steeply right now. How long that curve continues to rise will depend on the emergence of new technologies and making the best possible use of the ones currently in early stage development. What is known is that the role of business enterprise in providing the investment into R&D and creating the workforce of tomorrow will both have a huge role to play.

At OSX we are bringing together thought leaders from the business and technology industries to not only discuss issues such as advancements in technology, the workforce of tomorrow, the role of governments and the Brexit factor, but to also generate new ideas, ignite thinking and explore cohesion. Whether you are eager to contribute or keen to learn, or both, we’d love to see you there.

Whether you’re a provider or buyer, when it comes to choosing a location for BPO, shared services or other business specialisms such as ICT and research and development, your choices have never been greater.

Advancements in technology, increased global travel and the diversity of emerging business landscapes have opened new doors for us all. As a buyer or investor in services, however, the process of finding the right location can still be a protracted, exhaustive and highly skilled endeavour.

When it comes to selecting regions of the world, it often comes down to what the future of that region might look like, but being clear about the type of operating model you want from the outset is just as critical and should always be the foundation for sound decision-making. Then, all the factors that affect the operating model you want to achieve need to be scrutinized and given a big tick to ensure you will attain the scale, quality, competency and efficiency and you need.

Understanding the strengths, weaknesses and potential of regions are often worth considering in clusters, but benchmarking against the rest of the world can give a real sense of how strong a location proposition could actually be. Take Vietnam for example; just over 10 years ago their government began to invest heavily in STEM education and now it has a highly skilled technological workforce. Since then their outsourcing industry has grown exponentially and now boasts significant global players such as Intel, IBM, Nokia and Microsoft. Likewise, high tech automated business process software, IOT growth, Blockchain and waves of new skilled engineers and start-ups are increasing throughout Central and Eastern Europe, and let’s not forget the digital explosion taking place in China. A region that can offer you low costs, with the potential to develop under-utilised talent may be an area that can grow into your model, but if stability and added value from the offset is key you might consider a more mature market. In this instance, though, it would be crucial to have robust plans in order to handle challenges such as the inevitable ‘war on talent’. Also, in such mature hotspots and proven destinations, being able to leverage technology as the promoter and accelerator of performance and incentivising and prioritising innovation would also be key to survival.

Disregarding unsuitable locations where, for example, they might be lacking in managerial maturity or unlikely to achieve any added value, might help when making assessments, but simply avoiding locations just because they are unknown can also be an opportunity lost. Detailed scrutiny - going beyond what you find at face value and not placing over-emphasis on what’s available publicly - is often the key to finding the beacon in a crowded sea. The real experts, who have many years of experience of studying and analysing locations, will tell you that there is no such thing as the perfect location. Upsides and downsides will always exist, therefore identifying prime locations and having preferred and back up locations, should put you in a stronger position and able to make the right move at the right time.

But when all the research is done and there is no stone left unturned, it has to be worth remembering that none of that will really matter without making the effort to establish and nurture meaningful and trustworthy relationships.

At OSX we are bringing together thought leaders from the Business Services and Technology industries to examine all the critical issues affecting areas such as advancements in technology, general government under investment, the war on talent and new innovation. Access to our extensive exhibition show and networking areas are entirely free over the two days, creating a perfect environment for business leaders and teams to connect, collaborate and create a new, improved future for themselves and their organisations.

We would love to see you there.

To be part of this innovative new event, please contact Kevin Lloyd - klloyd@westrade.co.uk

Opportunities today are plentiful and that’s why so many are taking a leap forward, tackling the challenges of a new digital era and changing the world for the better. On the other hand others feel there is a lack of clarity on what differentiates one technological solution to another.

As a business leader you spend a lot of time imagining the future and what lies ahead but how do you do that successfully if you don’t know the sum of all digital solutions. After all, some are under development, and some yet to be invented and the art of the possible is changing all the time.

At the same time job mobility is on the increase and technological companies can be here today and gone tomorrow. That’s a scary thought, but what it actually means is that technology and the people drawn towards it have moved on to the next big thing. A new way of working is emerging in which interacting, exchanging ideas and openly allowing others to develop what you started are common place.

The benefits of this new culture are already there for all to see. Take the explosion in voice commerce; now only four years old it’s anticipated to be worth $40 billion dollars by 2022. In 2014, Alexa began as an experiment to create a talking book. By the end of that year it had 20 skills and today acting as a combination of an app and a website it has thousands of skills. At one point its rumoured Amazon had 1000 people working on Alexa but now it allows others access to build on it and develop applications and as a result 100 more skills are added every day.

As you know uncertainty always exists when a new piece of technology is being developed and the path isn’t clear, but very often what starts as an exercise to develop one thing becomes something else entirely.

In the not too distant past there were probably only two basic decisions to make; invest in research and development internally or involve an outside company or start up. Now being cohesive, open to new possibilities and opening up your ideas to others is where the revolution lies.

OSX is breaking new ground between the BPO and IT industries, bringing together thought leaders from these industries to explore cohesion and create a series of collisions between people, ideas and organisations in an unprecedented way. By bringing people together in this way it promises to be impassioned and opinionated, but most of all sincere and open.

We're already seeing a growing excitement from our current participants around the way we’re pairing together speakers, experiences and content as well as igniting new ideas and thinking.

We would love to see you there.

To be part of this innovative new event, please contact Kevin Lloyd - klloyd@westrade.co.uk

Engage. Energise. Enable.

Unlike most other events, we don’t sell our clients exhibition stands or sponsorship packages and then leave them alone to get on with it!

The OSX brand and marketing team offers our collaborators valuable support and guidance to develop a custom programme that fits their brand’s individual needs, and maximises their involvement.

At OSX we’re committed to changing the way the world does business, and this is more than just a marketing play; we sincerely believe our collaborations are about creating experiences that will resonate long after the event.

OSX Activations deliver the best marketing impact, aligning brands with OSX leading up to, during, and even long after the events.

We will help you

• Engage target audiences
• Refine your activation approach
• Amplify sponsorship and/or exhibition initiatives
• Achieve marketing objectives
• Capture the attention of thousands of industry influencers and decision makers while making strong B2B connections

Collaborate with OSX, and you can

• Target a specific industry or demographic
• Showcase a new product or service
• Directly address attendees via our Conference Programme or on the Trade Show floor via our Discovery Stages.
• Activate within a broader official event
• Increase engagement via our online and offline content marketing programme, across our social media platforms and PR campaigns.
• Get involved in optional tailored follow-ups with groups of delegates specific to your target demographic, organised and delivered by OSX.

Through our OSX Activations, branded engagements, product integrations, targeted social media efforts, and prominent logo placement, your brand has the tools to educate, entertain, and engage a captive audience on what you are doing to make a difference. Don’t waste any time; collaborate with the team who will work with you to engage your audience long after the euphoria of the event has died down.

Contact us today and learn more about OSX – and beyond.

OSX 2018 is an exciting new event combining conferences, meetings, technology and music.

These days, with so many events and conferences clogging up our calendars, delegates are increasingly having to ask themselves “Why should I attend this particular event?” and the C-Suite decision makers among us want to know: “Why should we sponsor this specific conference over the next one?”

Well, with OSX we’re making such questions easier to answer.

We can all see first-hand how technology is transforming every industry around us, hyper-connecting its workforce's and facilitating the creation of virtual networks and alliances that are imagining the new future. Indeed, history has proven that significant breakthroughs can be achieved from the emergent properties of the most unexpected - and unlikely - sources.

Today, the most forward-thinking companies have already recognised this and are presently managing intricate ecosystems of collaborators that are highly complex and interdependent, bridging markets and communities that are both global and local, segmented and complementary.

The path to innovation is increasingly dependent on the fusion of a vast range of skills, beliefs and disciplines, and the most creative solutions are the result of the most extreme collisions of ideas as well as the ability to break down barriers between silos.

That's where you’ll find OSX.

We passionately believe that convergence is the new catalyst for starting conversations naturally among different types of people from diverse organisations in order to drive organic networking, build engagement, create opportunities for collaboration - and innovate. And that's why we're reshaping business event programming.

OSX is breaking new ground between the BPO and IT industries, bringing together thought leaders from these industries to explore commonalities in creative problem-solving in today’s era of global connectivity. By calling to action the most inspiring minds possible in business, outsourcing, IT, media and the arts and gathering them together in one of London’s most creative venues and collaborative spaces we are seeking to create a series of spontaneous collisions between people, ideas, and organisations in unprecedented ways.

That's why you'll find that access to our exhibitions and networking lounges over the 2-day event is entirely free. Its why we suggest you hold your team meeting’s there, arrange 1-1’s, wander around in groups and absorb the dichotomy of services and technology being showcased by the established and the start-ups, then soak up the atmosphere in our after-show bar and listen to live music as you network and form collaborative relationships with new partners. Its why we're running competitions to give away free tickets and exhibitions spaces, and its why we're building showcase platforms in the heart of the exhibition area to allow businesses of all types the opportunity to have their voice heard, irrespective of their size or scale.

We're already seeing a growing excitement from our current participants around the way we’re pairing together speakers, experiences and content that may have previously been considered entirely dichotomous. Our multidisciplinary programming will drive both personal and professional growth for those who attend, as well as ignite new ideas and thinking.

We would love to see you there.

Connect. Collaborate. Innovate

To be part of this innovative new event, please contact Kevin Lloyd - klloyd@westrade.co.uk

In The Current Climate, The Role of CIO is Deeply Challenging

In many boardrooms across the UK, and indeed globally, the CIO is playing an increasingly larger role in determining - and assuming accountability for - the strategic direction for the businesses they represent. Whilst many CIOs will welcome being at the centre of attention, the role is becoming an increasingly complex and challenging one.

In 2017 we witnessed some of the largest cyberattacks ever, including multiple high-profile data breaches. Going into 2018 these security risks still prevail and despite many diverse industries working hard to protect business data from security vulnerabilities, it remains a significant threat to business continuity. Hyper-connectivity via the Internet of Things (IoT) also adds a further layer of complexity as well as a wave of brand new security threats; with more and more universal protocols for IoT communication (like NEST Weave) coming into the mainstream, enterprise security will surely continue to be number one priority for CIOs.

Digital Transformation is omnipresent and no industry vertical is escaping it; the fact that it’s already a key strategy to achieve competitive advantage and market differentiation using information and technology puts the CIO firmly in the driving seat in many organisations. However, it’s also a poisoned chalice as digital transformation is not just about technology, but also wholesale cultural realignment right through front-back office - which is not a key strength of many CIOs!

Arguably, the single biggest issue standing in the way of CIOs achieving their objectives continues to be the War on Talent. With technology advancing exponentially and chronic widespread underinvestment and lack of appropriate sponsorship in future skills, the skills gap is notably widening and businesses are increasingly having more trouble finding IT professionals equipped with the skills they require.

In addition, employees’ attitudes toward their jobs have changed significantly over the past decade, meaning that even if you do have the talent in place, holding on to them is an additional challenge! One prominent HR report in recent months cited that roughly one-third of new hires quit their jobs after about six months. And this doesn't stop at Management level either; about a third of leaders at companies with more than 100 employees are estimated to be currently looking for their next gig, according to BambooHR.

Employees these days are inspired by pursuing projects that promise a journey of discovery, self-growth, industry recognition and of course appropriate remuneration. This also includes contracts that provide the opportunity for sabbaticals, and flexible and home-working. For CIOs, this means creating and nurturing a 24-hr, multi-location environment that provides employees with an opportunity to learn, grow and excel - at the same time as getting the job done, within ever-tightening budget and time constraints!

Over the past few years, the IT function has pivoted away from being simply a business cost that effectively kept the lights on, to becoming a business driver; modern IT departments now actively drive the business technology in their organisation and the CIO has thus become something of an innovation driver.

Yes, IT is no longer a silo providing Helpdesk support to the organisation, it is a fundamental building block of the modern customers’ digital journey and will continue to be an increasingly critical part of every organisation, where the CIO is now expected to be an Enabler of the organisation’s overall business objectives, a Digital Customer Champion and Cultural Change-Maker!

We will be taking a closer look at these issues, and examining the tools and tactics to help CIOs overcome them, as part of our conference programming for OSX, with input provided by experts and thought leaders from across various diverse industry verticals.

If you would like to contribute, exhibit or attend this innovative industry event, then contact klloyd@westrade.co.uk for further details.

A major war on talent is set to break out in 2019 as the impact Brexit, advancements in technology, a shift in working patterns and general government underinvestment in future skills all converge to create a significant shortage of talent across the UK.

The outlook is so bleak that tackling skills shortages remains at the top of the HR industry’s agenda with 67% of corporate HR Leaders acknowledging the war on talent as their most pressing issue, according to a survey published earlier in the year by Eversheds Sutherland and market research company Winmark.

In a separate study published by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), it’s been claimed that almost a quarter of 2015 reported vacancies (209,000) were caused by the widening skills crisis, compared to just 91,000 ‘skills shortage vacancies’ a few years earlier.

What’s more, the financial cost of failure to address the lack of skills in the UK workforce is estimated to be in the region of £90bn a year, leaving workers £1,176 a year worse off on average, according research by the Local Government Association (LGA). On current trends, the LGA estimates that by 2024 there will be more than 4 million too few high skilled people to meet demand for high skilled jobs; and more than 6 million too many low skilled. A total of 9 million people already lack basic literacy and numeracy skills, according to their report. 

If this proves to be true, swathes of people face a future where they have skills mismatched for jobs, risking them being in low paid, insecure work. Limits on EU migration after Brexit will most likely exacerbate these skills challenges; a well-researched paper published by Deloitte earlier this year revealed that more than a million foreign workers could be preparing to ditch Britain, adding to fears that the country is facing a Brexit brain drain. The Deloitte poll found that 36 per cent of non-British workers in the UK are thinking about leaving by 2022, with 26 per cent planning to move even sooner, by 2020. Deloitte say that this figure represents 1.2 million jobs out of 3.4 million migrant workers in Britain, underscoring the severe jobs crisis facing the country as it continues the excruciating process of extracting itself from the European Union.

Having the best talent in place goes a long way to determining how resilient organisations are in the face of market changes, economic instability and the omnipresent need to innovate. Securing such talent on an ongoing basis, therefore, remains a key priority for businesses and issues like Brexit and protectionism in general, the emergence of future skills requirements and remote working and anywhere or anytime delivery, all make this a fundamental risk to businesses hoping to thrive - even survive - over the next ten years.

We will be examining this critical issue as part of our conference programming for OSX 2018, taking place at the London ExCel in October, with experts and thought leaders from across various diverse industry verticals providing their views and opinions on the scale of the crisis and, hopefully, what we need to do to mitigate it.

If you would like to contribute, exhibit or attend this innovative industry event, then contact klloyd@westrade.co.uk for further details.

Temporary staff numbers declined at the fastest rate this March since January 2016, with permanent employees suffering a similar drop, a survey from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation found, meaning employers are increasingly competing for a dwindling pool of talent.

By now there can’t be many professionals left in the developed world who haven't been impacted by disruption at some level.

New and innovative technologies, pervasive smart devices, the tsunami that is service delivery automation in all its guises, and operating models bent by emerging methodologies like Agile and Design Thinking are now omnipresent in our society.

In the worlds of outsourcing and information technology, our businesses are either being transformed, digitised, automated, migrated to the Cloud, buried under a heap of Big Data or liberated by the Internet of Things. The convergence of these great domains has created a whole new ecosystem, bringing with it opportunity and challenge in equal measure. Indeed, whilst a great many of us are becoming adept at riding the waves of disruption, a greater number are faced with the clear and present danger of being completely overwhelmed.

From middle management all the way up to Board Level, industry professionals will need to acquire an inherent understanding of the practicalities of Robotics and AI, The Future of Work, BREXIT, GDPR, Cyberthreat, Talent and Leadership capability, Virtual and Mixed Reality, Cryptocurrencies, Blockchain and The Platform Economy on their people, their processes and their value propositions.

OSX aims to meet these challenges head-on and at the same time properly define this unique and evolving ecosystem.

Through multiple parallel sessions, OSX provides a wide variety of content that allows attendees to come together and explore whats next in outsourcing and technology. Discover the latest trends, tools, techniques and roadmaps from a wide range of focus areas and subject matter, via keynotes and breakouts, workshops, labs and surgeries.

Take advantage of our Social Lounges; gathering places where you can share or learn from new experiences, connect with new collaborators, host 1-1’s or meet-ups and substantially expand your network.

Our Exhibition Arena enhances and complements the conference programming with endless opportunities to enhance your knowledge or discover new possibilities, hosted by a diverse range of innovative and forward-thinking organisations that operate across these converging industries. You will even see a mix of start-ups and established vendors take to the Discovery Stage to pitch their services or launch new products.

Then relax with a friend or colleague, prospect or client and soak up the unique atmosphere from our curated pool of talented artists at our OSX Music post-event drinks reception.

OSX is an event that will quickly become synonymous with the hottest industry trends and emerging technologies impacting the global sourcing industry. Don't delay; connect and collaborate with us, and play your part in creating the new future.