March 2023

The CEO's Welcome

Spring is in the air and in our step.

Despite great uncertainty across many of the major tech companies, the demise of Silicon Valley Bank and the closure of TechNation, the technology and business services industry is continuing at full belt. The appetite for digital transformations, customer centric innovations and resilience building continues unabated, but there is something different in the air – most companies truly want to do this more inclusively than they have ever done it before – across the buy, delivery and advisory sides. Please view those companies that topped the GSA’s Social Value Leaderboard – will you be recognised as a leader at the end of this year? 

The GSA has of course responded. Not only is our entire manifesto dedicated to industry wide inclusivity, but our Festival of Sourcing, taking place again this year on the island of Raven’s Ait in Kingston-upon- Thames, June 13-14, is completely dedicated to social sourcing: think agile sourcing, sustainability; standardisation; DEI; workforce wellbeing; responsible automation; Tech4Good; impact sourcing and supplier diversity – in addition to the Future of CX and industry -wide best practices. We are delighted to announce that we have partnered with the Council for Supplier Diversity UK to make Day 2 a deep dive on how to build diversity into supply chains – open to buyers, diverse suppliers, NGOs and advisors. You can read more in Upcoming Events.

If you are passionate about these subjects, then there could be a role for you on the GSA Council – please read more here.

Our most recent events have been on Impact Sourcing and Contracting for New Technologies.

We have also been busy giving GSA’s Professional Development a makeover. You can learning how in a SourcingTV episode with GSA’s Director of Professional Development.

As always, please keep us posted on your news and ideas.

Best
Kerry

UK Awards: 5 Weeks Until Submissions Close

There are 5 weeks left to submit for the GSA UK Awards.  Do you want to be recognised for your innovation and pioneering best practice? Are you a changemaker of the industry? Are you embarking on your Supplier Diversity journey or achieving ambitious targets for sustainability? Do you want to be recognised as the employer of the year or have an impressive digital project that you wish to share? There is a category suitable for everyone across the industry.

Take a look at this years’ categories here.

The first step to completing your submission is to fill in the Entry Form. This will let us know you are submitting and allows us to send you an invoice for your entry fee – which must be paid before the submission deadline.

This year, all submissions require a 5-minute video and a 250-word synopsis. If you cannot complete a video due to corporate sign offs, please let us know. Submissions should be emailed to admin@gsa-uk.com.

View the entry pack here.

KEY DATES:

Submissions close: 28th April 2023

Shortlist announced: 12th May 2023

Live judging: w/c 22nd May 2023

Awards ceremony: 4^th July 2023 – watch this space for venue announcement coming very soon!

LAST CHANCE TO HAVE YOUR SAY:GSA STANDARD TERMS SURVEY

The GSA has been championing industry standardisation for some time as we believe this is both the fairest and most economical way for companies of all sizes across our industry to work and to collaborate. Why reinvent wheels when we can have one industry-wide common approach?

For almost the last two years we have been working hard on an industry first standard framework agreement for all types of professional services, which will be made freely available for the technology and business services industry to use. The framework has been negotiated by the top legal minds in the UK to create a balanced view between buyers and providers.

As we get close to launch we want to gauge current market readiness - are companies really ready to level the playing field or just paying lip service? We’ve put together a very quick survey as a litmus test to include your personal view on standard terms and the likelihood of your company adopting them. There’s just 4 questions and it’ll take less than 1 minute to complete.

Complete the survey here.

CALLING ALL PHILANTHROPISTS OUT THERE TO JOIN THE GSA COUNCIL

There is no better way to demonstrate your company’s commitment to Social Value than by joining and contributing to the industry Association. Every individual and company involved finds it both rewarding and highly beneficial – from learning, networking and personal and corporate brand awareness perspectives.

If you would like to align your brand (personal or corporate) with any of the programs included in our manifesto for 2023 or have your own ideas on how we can drive our industry forward together, please do not hesitate to contact our CEO, kerryh@gsa-uk.com, directly.

Previous Events

SOURCING TV: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND UPSKILLING

with GSA's Director of Professional Development, Chris Halward

The GSA has been delivering professional development for over 15 years. In this SourcingTV interview, Chris gives an overview of the GSA’s approach to Professional Development and the portfolio for qualifications the GSA has developed, what work based learning is and how students and employers can benefit from it, the video library of training the GSA have to offer and who they are relevant for within the industry, how the GSA is differentiated from other professional bodies and the exciting new masterclass the GSA is launching to cover an ethical approach to sourcing to include social sourcing, diversity, sustainability and environmental impacts of sourcing.

Watch the full interview here.

GUEST BLOG: GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT.

by Sithmi Erahapola, Intern at Azend Technologies

As an island nation, Sri Lanka has always relied on its own resources. During the age of seafaring, it became a strategic trade hub, the gateway to Southeast Asia and South Asia. Despite the Dutch, Portuguese, and British influences, the island has always managed to provide a unique allure to all those that visited and traded there. This has always been built on the bedrock of Sri Lankan resilience and ingenuity. Even with COVID-19 shaking global supply chains and rattling economies, Sri Lanka pushed through to the best of its ability no matter the adversity. A prime example of its resilience is the thriving IT Industry. The sector has been steadily growing over the years to become one of the largest contributors to Sri Lanka’s economy. Some of the notable factors include:

1. Sri Lanka is home to global industry leaders in the software space. Names such as Sysco Corporation, Pearson, Wiley, IFS, and more have well established development arms based in Sri Lanka, serving a global base of clients. In addition, Sri Lanka has given rise to homegrown namessuch as MilleniumIT (acquired by the London Stock Exchange Group) who built the fastest trading platforms in the world.

2. Sri Lanka has a highly qualified and talented pool of technology personnel. With an average literacy rate of 96%, and 17 public universities and over 25 institutions representing leading global universities such as the University of London, University College Dublin, and more.

3. Sri Lanka has a geographical advantage; positioned to capture a vast time zone span from GMT to ACT, all without exhausting resources, not to mention being able to ensure a full workforce capable of serving regions that require night shift support.

4. With Sri Lanka being home to industry leaders in capital markets technology, ERP, education platforms and more, the country has become a hub for high quality and resilient IT services (Business Analysis, UI/UX, Development, Quality Assurance, and more), all thanks to an up-to-date workforce and growing global demand.

5. There is significant growth in the technology space, with over 1,000 start-ups and 200,000 new jobs anticipated to be generated in the next couple of years, in AI, IoT, Blockchain, and many more areas.

6. While Sri Lanka may not have the sheer numbers to compete with regional players, the country has stood ahead when it comes to product and enterprise software development, driven by an emphasis on quality over quantity.

7. Sri Lanka has demonstrated remarkable resilience throughout the COVID pandemic, with rapid adjustments leveraged off digital products. A QR code system was developed allowing stakeholders to monitor and manage fuel dispersal at fuel stations, district level, and national level against vehicle types. The deployment of a digital vaccination certificate allowed for transparent tracking of COVID vaccinations across the population.

Azend Technologies, along with others, are pioneering the growth of this opportunistic industry, enabling businesses across the globe to grow in Agtech, Fintech, Edtech, Biotech, and more. With Sri Lanka's technology sector expanding quickly, it is positioned to play a significant role in the global IT market. Partnerships such as the one between Azend Technologies and the GSA-UK will help further strengthen organisation-level ties between Sri Lankan IT companies and global markets, putting the country on the world map as the technology hub it truly is.

THE NEWS ROUNDUP

• Procurement reforms pushed back to Spring 2024
• A Digital Revolution in Insurance: An Evening With DLA Piper
• Webhelp appoints tech industry veteran Benjamin Faes as UK CEO
• TTEC expands European capabilities, announces Adam Foster as President of TTEC EMEA
• Rebuilding resilient hi-tech SME supply chains
• Businesses can now hire project managers through Fiverr
• Stefanini Group partners with Microsoft to integrate simultaneous translation platform into Microsoft Teams

MARK YOUR CALENDERS - UPCOMING EVENTS