The countdown has begun to the launch party for sourcingfocus.com, which takes place in London next week on the evening of 30th April, at the Polka Bar in Poland Street, Soho. I very much hope to see you there at the official launch of what is, after all, your community, your portal, and your homepage for sourcing news, analysis, and opinion.

sourcingfocus.com will launch with some specially commissioned research into attitudes to outsourcing, which we will exclusively reveal next week. I can promise that it will make for a challenging read in these uncertain times.

Sourcing is in the mainstream news every week, as the economic downturn shifts many opinions away from the strategic, innovative and economic advantages of outsourcing to an exclusive focus on the threat from offshoring to local jobs.

It is rarely far from the lips of US presidential candidates, and the downturn means that outsourcing companies themselves are not immune to the political and economic turmoil that follows the slashing of local jobs to fund the expansion of an offshore workforce.

As Logica has discovered once again this week, in the wake of a restructuring announcement that sees 1,300 jobs being lost in Europe (see today's News Analysis), the vital element in a flatlining economy is the vision thing. Businesses – like markets, like countries – don't just need the steady hand of a prudent economic administrator; they need someone who can inspire and lead.

Logica's announcement has been dismissed by Ovum as a plan, not a strategy; one with a sound and grounded analysis, maybe, but lacking in vision.

See you next week.