Enterprises across industries are exploring the potential benefits of outsourcing Customer Experience Management (CXM) operations, leveraging cutting-edge technologies to streamline processes and deliver personalized experiences at scale. By engaging with CXM service providers, enterprises can navigate operational challenges more effectively while capitalizing on the transformative potential of technology to drive meaningful improvements in customer engagement. Based on an enterprise survey, this report provides a nuanced understanding of organizational perspectives and sentiments regarding CXM outsourcing. From identifying industry-specific challenges to exploring the impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives on CXM strategies, the report offers valuable insights to inform strategic decision-making and enhance customer-centric initiatives. Moreover, the report underscores the role of strategic partnerships between enterprises and CXM service providers to optimize customer experiences. By delving into industry-specific perspectives and examining the evolving landscape of socially conscious customer engagement, the research explores the collaborative efforts driving innovation and excellence in CXM delivery. Scope All industries and geographies Contents In this report, we: Study the challenges that enterprises face in CX delivery and evolving enterprise expectations from CXM providers Examine CXM providers’ business objectives / adoption drivers Provide key takeaways for a better enterprise-provider collaboration Membership(s) Customer Experience Management (CXM) Services, including Contact Center Outsourcing CX Excellence CXM Technology Outsourcing Excellence

As the world adapts to a new COVID-19-induced reality, enterprises globally are accelerating their digital transformation efforts with a focus on consolidating disparate technologies and a renewed push for process transformation vis-à-vis the lift-and-shift approach.  While service providers and product vendors emerged as enterprises’ strategic partners during the pandemic’s peak, they have not been able to match enterprise expectations in terms of consulting and advisory services. The proportion of satisfied customers decreased by 15% over 2020-21, as opposed to a 27% increase in satisfaction levels over 2019-20. Enterprises feel that providers need to evolve their positioning from being implementation specialists to becoming transformation partners and help transform their processes and unlock future potential. This report is based on insights from 150+ structured interviews with enterprises referenced by the 35 global service providers assessed in this report. The study summarizes enterprise views on the capabilities of various enterprise platforms and the expectations from product vendors as enterprises look to scale up their investments. The report also lays out enterprises’ quantitative and qualitative inputs on their providers, their strengths, and limitations. Scope Advisory/consulting services, implementation services, maintenance, and support services across cloud and on-premise deployment of enterprise platforms  Enterprise platforms covered include Oracle Cloud ERP, SAP S/4 HANA, Pega, Dynamics 365, ServiceNow, and Salesforce Industry: market activity and investments of leading service providers and tech vendors across industries Geography: global Contents This report examines: Enterprise satisfaction with platforms Enterprise expectations from technology vendors Enterprise satisfaction with providers Enterprises’ satisfaction levels across platforms Enterprise perceptions of individual service providers Membership(s) Enterprise Platform Services (EPS) Sourcing and Vendor Management

Technology vendors emerged as true strategic partners to enterprises during COVID-19 in terms of helping them navigate the pandemic’s impact. These partnerships increased overall satisfaction levels by 21% in 2019 and 2020, versus a drop in satisfaction levels by 5% in 2018 and 2019, particularly due to a sudden shift in enterprise expectations in terms of adopting a digital-first working model and technology vendors’ investments in enhancing their cloud, digital, and data offerings. The findings in this report are based on insights from 523 structured interviews with enterprises that were suggested as references by the 68 global technology vendors assessed in this report. The study summarizes various enterprises’ views on their technology vendors’ capabilities across applications, digital, cloud and infrastructure, and enterprise platform services. The report also captures quantitative and qualitative insights across enterprises’ digital agendas and their perception of technology vendors. Scope All industries and geographies Contents In this report, we share: Enterprises’ business and technology priorities Enterprises’ satisfaction levels across years, geographies, and industries Enterprise perceptions of individual technology vendors Enterprise expectations from technology vendors Change in enterprises’ satisfaction levels vis-à-vis individual technology vendors Membership(s) Application Services Banking Information Technology Cloud and Infrastructure Services Digital Services Enterprise Platform Services (EPS) Healthcare Payer and Provider Information Technology Insurance Information Technology Life Sciences Information Technology Sourcing and Vendor Management

Insights from our research reveal that despite service providers investing heavily to enhance their capabilities, the proportion of satisfied customers has only marginally increased by two percentage points in the last two years. Service providers have not given adequate attention to certain key dimensions that influence customer satisfaction – innovation, talent, and strategic partnership. Additionally, the report details the technology investment priorities of enterprises and their perception of service provider capabilities. This report also focuses on the future of the service delivery model, given enterprises’ evolving expectations. Service providers need to align their offerings and capabilities to the future investment areas identified by enterprises. The objective of this report is to delve deeper into the mind of enterprises, as they embark on the digital transformation journey and to gauge their changing expectations and priorities. Scope of the research This report is based on insights from structured interviews with 272 enterprises that were shared as references by the service providers assessed in this report. The report gives a summary of the views of various enterprises regarding the capabilities of services providers they engage across applications, digital, cloud, and infrastructure services. The report also captures quantitative and qualitative insights across their technology priorities, digital agenda, outsourcing strategies, and perception of service providers. Contents Enterprises’ assessment of service provider capabilities Enterprises’ technology priorities Enterprises’ expectations from service providers Enterprises’ perception of individual service providers   Evolving demand-supply dynamics in the digital era   Framework to effectively engage with the rapidly evolving enterprise ecosystem A winning model for delivering IT services Membership(s) Application Services Banking & Financial Services (BFS) - IT Services (ITS) Cloud & Infrastructure Services Digital Services Healthcare & Life Sciences IT Outsourcing Insurance - IT Services (ITS)

This report provides insights into the key factors driving RPO adoption among buyers as well as an overview of buyers’ perception of the service provider performance. It also discusses the shortcomings that the buyers perceive in the current service providers' offerings. The analysis in this report is broken into three areas: Key factors driving RPO adoption among buyers RPO service provider performance Evolving buyer requirements Some of the key findings are: RPO buyers are expecting greater value-added innovation from their service providers. In particular, buyers focus on innovation and proactiveness versus to traditional metrics Service providers seem unable to innovate fast enough to keep pace with  rising buyer expectations and meet demand for next-generation drivers Buyer behavior also varies significantly by enterprise size, which means that providers have to be flexible in understanding and meeting buyer expectations  Membership(s) Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)

Purely product-based differentiation is short term. This, along with margin pressures and the emergence of new players is pushing enterprises to drive innovation in the way they deliver Customer Experience (CX) and contact center services. CX innovation can help enterprises to not only save costs, but also improve customer loyalty and gain competitive advantage in the market. Key components of CX innovation go beyond deploying new technology solutions. They also encompass process-led innovation and a cultural shift within the organization to be more open to innovation. Digital CX already features among the top priorities for enterprises for the next 12-18 months. They are looking at next-generation solutions such as chatbots, self-service, and advanced analytics as the key areas of investments. Since digital CX innovation has become a key to drive differentiation in the market, enterprises can leverage the support of CXM providers to digitally transform their CX operations. CXM service providers can not only help enterprises in running a digitally transformed contact center but can also play a pivoting role during the designing and implementation stages. We engaged in multiple conversations with enterprises to understand what CX innovation means to them and get deeper understanding of their outsourcing relationship. This report examines multiple facets of their engagements and includes: Need for innovation in CXM services Focus on digital-led innovation in CXM Role of CXM providers in driving innovation Assessment of CXM providers' innovation capabilities Way forward for enterprises and service providers Membership(s) Customer Experience Management (CXM) Services, including Contact Center Outsourcing

The Finance and Accounting Outsourcing market is gradually shifting from arbitrage-first to the digital-first model. Service providers are developing best practices and digital capabilities to meet evolving requirements of enterprises and to facilitate transformation through digital enablement. Everest Group engaged in multiple conversations with enterprises to understand and analyze the shift on FAO buyer-service provider relationships. This report examines multiple-facets of FAO-engagements and answers the following questions: How are enterprises’ expectations from their service providers changing over time? How are service providers placed based on buyers’ perception of their performance on different KPIs? Which parameters are perceived to be the most differentiated by buyers? What is the way forward for buyers and providers to succeed in this transformation journey? Scope of analysis Structured questionnaires and interviews with enterprises capturing qualitative and quantitative insights of their engagements with over 25 FAO service providers including Accenture, Aegis, Arvato, Capgemini, Cognizant, Concentrix, Conduent, Datamatics, DXC Technology, EXL, Genpact, HCL, Hexaware, IBM, Infosys, Intelenet, IQ BackOffice, NTT Data, Quatrro, Sutherland Global Services, TCS, TMF Group, Toutatis, Wipro, and WNS Sample size includes 90+ buyer interactions across online surveys and interviews across multiple industries and geographies in 2015-2017 Membership(s) Finance & Accounting Outsourcing

Our recent digital services research reveals a sizable mismatch between digital demand and supply dynamics. Fifty seven percent of enterprise demand is digital-first in nature, but from a strategy perspective, 53% of enterprises choose to embark on the digital transformation journey alone (DIY) versus engaging external partners. Sixty-one percent of enterprises with a digital-first mandate are dissatisfied with their service providers, while traditional IT deals have a higher share of satisfaction (55%). Overall dissatisfaction levels increased to 54% in 2017 from 48% in 2016. Enterprises' internal organizational challenges have further reduced engagement opportunities for service providers. Our research also details enterprises' technology investment priorities and opportunity areas for service providers across legacy modernization, security, cognitive systems, automation, cloud, IoT, blockchain, and other similar themes. The research indicates that enterprises' primary expectations from a service provider revolve around proactiveness, next-generation technology expertise, and strategic partnership-driven approach. Service providers need to align their offerings and capabilities to the future investment areas identified by enterprises. Scope This report is based on insights from structured interviews with 230+ enterprises that were shared as references by the service providers assessed in this report. The report gives a summary of the views of various enterprises regarding the capabilities of services providers they engage across applications, digital, cloud, and infrastructure services The report also captures quantitative and qualitative insights across their technology priorities, digital agenda, outsourcing strategies, and perception of service providers. Contents Enterprises’ priorities and expectations Digital investment priorities Engagement expectations Enterprises’ assessment of service provider capabilities Experience of working with their service providers Service providers’ performance assessment Evolving demand-supply dynamics in the digital era Membership(s) Application Services Banking, Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI) - Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO) Cloud & Infrastructure Services Digital Services Healthcare & Life Sciences IT Outsourcing

Increasing contractual activity and potential for service providers’ play has intensified the competition among RPO providers. In response, they are investing heavily to strengthen their capabilities in different geographies, industries, and recruitment technologies. RPO providers believe that their continued investments are going to fetch them more deals and success in the market. However, we looked deeper into their relationships and analyzed: Are buyers really happy? If not, why and to what an extent? What differentiates service providers and what all are table-stakes now? Are service providers investing in what matters the most to buyers? Are buyers willing to expand the scope of engagement with their incumbent providers? This report examines multiple aspects of RPO provider and buyer engagements and answers the above-mentioned questions. The analysis is based on quantitative and qualitative insights generated from interviews and surveys of 140+ enterprises that have engagements with 25+ RPO providers. Membership(s) Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO)

Insights from our research reveal that almost 50% of the enterprises are dissatisfied with their service providers, whose average performance score as strategic partners is merely 5 on 10. Whereas service providers meet the technical requirements stated in the agreement, in reality, they seldom meet customer expectations on the softer engagement aspects. The enormous gap between the stated and the unstated expectations leaves the majority of the customers discontented with their service providers. Additionally, the report details the technology investment priorities of enterprises and opportunity areas for service providers across legacy modernization, security, cognitive systems, automation, cloud, digital, blockchain, and other similar themes. Around 67% of the enterprises consider innovation to be their primary focus, whereas the rest are concerned about operational efficiency as the biggest business driver. Service providers need to align their offerings and capabilities to the future investment areas identified by enterprises. One of the objectives of the report is to aid service providers in developing strategies to evolve their engagement approaches and prioritize investments to align with mounting customer expectations. Scope of the research This report is based on insights from structured interviews with 130+ enterprises that were shared as references by the service providers assessed in this report. The report give a summary of the views of various enterprises regarding the capabilities of services providers they engage across applications, digital, cloud, and infrastructure services. The report also captures quantitative and qualitative insights across their technology priorities, digital agenda, outsourcing strategies, and perception of service providers. Contents Enterprises’ assessment of service provider capabilities Enterprises’ experience of working with their service providers Service providers’ performance assessment Enterprises’ priorities and investments Enterprises’ investment priorities Enterprises’ investment objectives Membership(s) Application Services Banking, Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI) - Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO) Cloud & Infrastructure Services Digital Services Healthcare & Life Sciences IT Outsourcing