Self-Provisioning Changes Traditional Sourcing Practices

The ability of consumers to self-provision their own technology resources has become one of the most talked-about trends in the technology industry. This trend, which will shape workforce behaviors over the next decade, is supported by several powerful forces: the rise of a technology-native workforce, ubiquitous broadband and mobile communications, and the emergence of "as-a-service" technology and business process offerings. As Forrester analysts Josh Bernoff and Ted Schadler note in Forrester's book Empowered, the ability to empower a workforce with technology can result in significant competitive advantages for leading enterprises if they are willing to change their traditional purchasing requirements and policies. To understand the implications of this trend for sourcing and vendor management (SVM) professionals, we conducted interviews with leading SVM organizations about whether this trend was on their 2011 agenda, and what they were doing to prepare for the self-provisioning trend.