According to Gartner, social technologies will change the way that sourcing organisations interact with suppliers and customers, from requirements definition, through contract negotiation and vendor performance evaluation.
The consultants have urged buyers to consider the opportunities and risks presented by the convergence of social, information, mobile and cloud.
“Employees are using more social software and social networking sites for business purposes. Using social technology for collaboration in complex outsourcing relationships can increase efficiency, but sourcing organisations should also consider its nontechnical aspects.
“Buyers can now gather information and opinions about IT products and service vendors from multiple sources, for example, online user groups, social networks or from peer group forums,” Gartner researchers predicted.
“Social, information, mobile and cloud shouldn’t be considered in isolation as market forces,” said Linda Cohen, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner.
Gartner advised that growing cloud adoption will force sourcing managers to reconsider sourcing governance techniques and contracting practices. It noted that more than half of the respondents in a public cloud survey conducted by Gartner in 2012 said they would likely or definitely consider a model based on public cloud for applications and that they intend to upgrade, replace or modernise over the next two years.
Sourcing managers are also urged by the analyst group to revise mobile strategies, such as bring your own device (BYOD) and mobile applications availability, which will expand IT service sourcing requirements as users demand new services.
