World BPO/ITO Forum shows the way for Businesses to succeed in the New Normal

Los Angeles,June 30, 2011 Avasant is pleased to announce its role as the Program Chair and Sponsor for the recently concluded World BPO/ITO Forum in Jersey City, New Jersey. The fourth edition of this annual conference, which is fast gaining a reputation as the "Davos" of Global Sourcing, attracted some of the top IT and Business leaders from mid to large size firms, thought leaders, academics and global service providers. This year's conference featured the theme "Flattening the world - The economic, political and technical impact of Global Sourcing" and was attended by 450 executives from 55 countries. Amongst the highlights of the conference was a Keynote by Dr Larry Summers, Director, White House Economic Council for President Barrack Obama. Dr Summers' talk highlighted how the rising clout of India and China in the global arena would significantly alter the economic balance. The other major keynotes were provided by Dana Deasey, CIO of BP and Mike Toma, CTO of ADP. Dana's talk focused on how companies are increasingly adopting a collaborative and partnering approach to enhance the outcomes of global sourcing. Sessions at the conference dealt with Leadership and Business transformation issues. Global sourcing is becoming the most important lever for organizations to transform and acquire dexterity to succeed in the new normal. The rationale for sourcing is moving away from low cost arbitrage towards enhancing competitiveness by leveraging the best talent in the most suitable location. Cloud computing and its impact on IT sourcing was another hot topic of discussion. A CIO Roundtable provided insights on how Cloud, Mobility and Social media were transforming the way organizations dealt with their employees, customers and partners. Jim Noble, CIO of Talisman Energy and Chairman of World BPO/ITO Forum provided the closing remarks which summed up the conference as follows: "Global Sourcing can provide net positive value for US companies as long as they embed Innovation, Business Transformation and Collaboration within these initiatives. Companies should take a long term sustainable approach rather than seek short term gains. There is also a tremendous socio-economic impact that sourcing is having in many different parts of the world and that in turn is creating a "flatter world" where quality of life and prosperity can become a universal reality."