What a difference a year makes!
What a difference a year makes in perspective. Last year, I had recently joined the Xerox Global Services organization and was still viewing the world through a mixed lens of technology (having moved from the Production Systems Group), and trying to understand the value-add of the services that we bring to our customers.
A year later, I am convinced that professional and consulting services is a critical element to enabling the success of application solutions and technology. In discussing this with several software providers, they are seeing a significant need in this area as well. The complexity created through mergers and acquisitions has driven a plethora of platforms and tools requiring integration or consolidation.
I also feel reinforcement that an application focus is critical. It is even more powerful when taking into consideration the unique factors – such as security and compliance – from an industry perspective. Many of the software providers I spoke to at AIIM have evolved into some type of industry specialization. This is not because their software doesn’t support all industries, but because they have developed an expertise around a set of applications that are repeatable. Therefore, customers have more confidence in their ability to implement efficiently and effectively.
All in all, it was a good two days and nice to catch up with some old friends I hadn’t seen in awhile. It reminded me that we are part of a community of professionals committed to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of how our clients communicate to their constituents.
Derrick Doi
Vice President of Business Integration and Market Development
Xerox Global Services