We believe it is important to keep abreast of arising issues that may affect how we, and you, function. To help you, we have placed relevant news stories below.

New series of SOLACE Enterprise Workshops
We are happy to be once again doing a series of workshops in conjunction with SOLACE Enterprises. The workshops "Are you really ready to share?" and "Outsourcing and Joint Ventures - Harnessing the market" will be held on the 12th and 13th May 2010 respectively. More information can be found on our event page or by contacting SOLACE Enterprises to register.

Everest ITO Market Update
Everest have just released their latest ITO Market Update entitled “Hype and Reality of Cloud Computing – Mind the Gap”.

“This report evaluates cloud computing with respect to traditional and virtualized enterprise setup and analyzes the risks and challenges associated with the cloud. It evaluates the often neglected ‘operations as a service’ stack in cloud computing and elaborates on various strategies the suppliers are leveraging to woo the enterprise buyer. The report examines various scenarios which are possible in cloud computing evolution as well as key challenges that need to be overcome for these scenarios to materialize.”

If you would like to view the complete market update, please contact Everest for more information.

Jim Scopes on CorporateLeaders HR Transformation panel
CorporateLeaders’ annual HR Transformation Leaders Conference, Strengthening the HR Organisation, is being held on the 27th April in Paris. The theme for this year’s event is on how companies can strengthen their HR organizations in a vastly new business landscape utilizing the most competitive and compelling HR transformation strategies and solutions in the market.

Jim Scopes will be on the panel of experts in the session "Governance: Aligning Governance Structures with changing Business Transformation Priorities", so please come along!  di

Are you really ready to share?

Across the UK, shared services are delivering impressive results, with improvements in performance and significant cost savings. But it can be tough to get a shared service up and running and even harder to keep it going. We have put together a brief document that highlights what we believe to be the six simple rules to a successful shared services partnership. You can download it here.

Festive Season Office Closure

Over the Christmas and New Year period, the staff at EightyTwenty Insight will be taking a hard earned break with their families. The office will close on Christmas Eve and re-open on the 4th January 2010. We hope you have a relaxing and Merry Christmas and New Years period, and look forward to speaking with you in 2010.

EightyTwenty Insight and the Everest Group form an alliance
This month, the Everest Group and EightyTwenty Insight Ltd have established a close working relationship. Both companies have:

• A shared set of values, with a passion for serving the best interests of our clients, staff and shareholders
• Excellent people, with an extensive track record of great work with clients
• A shared heritage of specialism in sourcing advisory services â?? experts at what they do.

As a part of this relationship, Nick Andrews from EightyTwenty Insight has joined Everest as Principal for EMEA to help them build their business in Europe.


Launch of Citizen-driven Design
We have recently launched our citizen-driven design offering - which offers a radical new approach to local service delivery. This takes the twin challenges of huge financial pressure and increasing customer demands as an opportunity for renewal, through new service models designed with, and around, the citizen. For more information, please click here.

Lean Government Conference

We will be exhibiting and presenting a masterclass, "Beyond Lean - delivering more for less", at this years Lean Government Conference at Central Hall, Westminster on the 30th September. Jim Scopes, Eric Bohl and Nick Andrews will be attending the event, and we would welcome the chance to speak with you during the event. Please come and visit us at our exhibition stand during one of the breaks.

Outsourcing: The keys to success - 18th June 2009, London.
We are pleased to be exhibiting at the public sector event, Outsourcing: The Keys to Success at the barbican on the 18th June. Jim Scopes and Nick Andrews will be at the event and would be happy to talk to you. You can find them at stand 12.

Harvey Nash Event - 2nd June 2009, London.
We are pleased to be involved with an upcoming Harvey Nash event titled, "The Roots Review - Effective Procurement and Commissioning". For more information on this event, please view the events page of this website.

Happy Birthday Hannah!
The team at EightyTwenty Insight wish our sponsor child Hannah, a Happy Birthday. As no Birthday is complete without gifts from loved ones, we sent across some coloured pencils for the children at the centre and a sewing machine so that their clothing can be altered to fit or repaired so they do not have holes.   

8020i joins the Twitter craze
You can now follow us on Twitter! You can read what we have been up to at www.twitter.com/8020i .

Sydney Office opens
EightyTwenty Insight has opened a branch in Sydney, Australia; adding to the existing London head office and New York branch. This office will serve the Asia Pacific region. To contact the office, please  click here.

EightyTwenty Insight happy to support the Kenya Children Centres

Whilst the credit crunch is affecting us in the Western world, it is having a heavier toll on those that are less privileged. In recognition of this fact, EightyTwenty Insight will be supporting the Kenya Children Centres and sponsoring a child, Hannah. This UK based organisation is run by a couple who since 1999 have worked to set up centres to rescue destitute orphan girls and care for them in a safe and loving environment, free from conflict, abuse and exploitation.

This project highlights how it is the work of a few that make all the difference.

Thinking of Outsourcing? Think Ahead.

Nick Andrews, one of our Directors, features in an article in The Times Outsourcing supplement on the 27th September, titled "Thinking of Outsourcing? Think Ahead”. Please take a moment to look out for us. If you miss the feature, it can be downloaded from the Articles section of this website.

SOLACE Annual Conference - Are you attending?

The annual SOLACE Conference, Prosperity, people & place; will be held in Belfast from the 7th to 9th October 2008. Eric Bohl, the author of 'Make, Buy or Share?' and a director at EightyTwenty Insight, will be in attendance at the event to promote the Guide and to answer questions you may have.

If you are interested in speaking with Eric, please send an email with your contact details and we will be in touch to organise a meeting time.

SOLACE Guide to Sourcing is launched!

The SOLACE Guide to Sourcing is now available! The guide draws on research into sourcing initiatives across the country and interviews with SOLACE members and their private sector partners. It gets behind the headlines to help senior leaders identify the benefits that can be achieved and the risks that need to be managed when implementing these approaches.

The guide goes on to provide practical answers to the crunch questions facing those embarking upon major sourcing programmes. This guide celebrates the creativity that local government demonstrates in its sourcing strategies. Many authorities have shown, and continue to show, that innovative approaches to outsourcing and shared services bring new solutions to age-old challenges.

EightyTwenty Insight was instrumental in the development of this guide, with Eric Bohl authoring the publication. We have placed some of the case studies from the publication on the website as we believe that they would be of benefit to those in the public sector.

The publication can be ordered via the SOLACE website. For more information, please either contact Eric Bohl, EightyTwenty Insight, or Graham Taylor from SOLACE.

EightyTwenty begins global expansion - American Office is open for business; Europe to follow soon
We are delighted to announce that we have recently opened an American office in New York. This office will be run by Tim Reed and will be used as the base for our engagements in the United States. The European office will follow shortly- opening in the Autumn.

Perform! Benchmark - Benchmarking made easy
EightyTwenty Insight and Perform World Limited have launched a simple, easy to use, cost- effective web-based benchmarking tool, Perform! Benchmark. This product currently has modules for Human Resources and Finance & Accounting, with a procurement module currently in development. For more information on this product, please view the Benchmarking page on this website.

EightyTwenty Insight featured on sourcingfocus.com
EightyTwenty Insight has had several whitepapers published on the new sourcingfocus.com portal. This portal (www.sourcingfocus.com) was developed by the National Outsourcing Association and features whitepapers, news items and a blog that enables you to find answers to your problems or queries, and view case studies of your peers. We will be providing more content over time, but please take the time to go to the website and view the materials already there.

EightyTwenty Insight working with PIPC
EightyTwenty Insight has commenced work with PIPC on a project in the United States based in New York. This is a high profile programme with a blue-chip client. We are very excited by this collaboration, as it demonstrates the strength of the Best of Breed Alliance.

Eric Bohl in print!
Eric Bohl was recently interviewed by Mark Leftly for the Local Government Chronicle. He was asked for his opinion on the Julius review of the public service industry and the role of the private sector in delivering local government services. This interview was published on 15 May 2008 and the full article can be viewed here.

A warm welcome to Eric Bohl
We are pleased to announce that Eric Bohl will be joining EightyTwenty Insight to head up the Local Government practice. He has 20 years experience in this sector and has worked for local authorities, rated as good or excellent, including Lambeth, Tower Hamlets, Bexley and Lewisham. One of his initial tasks is to use his extensive experience to author the SOLACE Guide to Outsourcing (this will be available in July 2008). His involvement will strengthen our public sector practice.

Offshore Practice launched!
Prasanna Grundi, formerly Business Development Director from CapGemini, has joined EightyTwenty Insight to drive its Offshore Practice. This program will be concentrating on the manufacturing and utilities sectors, and will see the formation of relationships with off-shore providers, particularly those in India. This will strengthen the services we are able to offer clients by ensuring that we have an up to the minute perspective on this important - and sometimes misunderstood - part of the provider community.

EightyTwenty Insight provides comment on Public Service Reform
Recently we have had the opportunity to provide information to the CBI and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Yvette Cooper MP, regarding the debate on Public Service Reform. Our whitepaper, Public Service Transformation and Reform, has proven to be particularly useful as it addresses alternative service delivery models; ASDMs, a mix of public private and third sector provision; as the prerequisites for transformation.

EightyTwenty Insight Delivers Procurement Process Strategy
EightyTwenty Insight continues to grow its delivery capabilities for procurement process strategy evaluation and execution. Companies are faced with countless options on improving the procurement function, including process reengineering, technological innovation, skills enhancement, and outsourcing. The growing team at EightyTwenty Insight now has over 60 years of combined experience helping large and medium sized companies identify and implement procurement optimization opportunities. This deep experience allows EightyTwenty Insight to provide its customers with practical and meaningful advice on the benefits and risks of different procurement process strategies.

EightyTwenty working with SOLACE to produce a Guide to Sourcing
Local authorities have led the way in the public sector in delivering efficiency savings and service improvements.  Against a background of tighter public finances and ever-increasing public expectations, EightyTwenty Insight is working with the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (SOLACE) to produce a Guide to Sourcing.  The guide will provide SOLACE Members with a route map to decisions on shared services, outsourcing and insourcing. With case studies covering the latest ground-breaking initiatives, the guide will focus on the key issues, benefits and risks of the different models of service design.

Formation of Alliance will benefit Clients
EightyTwenty Insight has entered into an alliance with Alpine, NelsonHall, Orion Partners, PIPC, Resolex and The Yellow Team. This will provide clients with the full spectrum of outsourcing, off-shoring, transformation and shared services; and the added benefit of pooled expert resources and knowledge.

For more information on this powerful alliance, please view the Best of Breed page for more information.