U.S. Enterprises, Service Providers Emerge from Pandemic as Transformation Partners Enabling Hybrid Work Modes

ISG Provider Lens™ report sees providers and clients sharpening their focus on seamless employee experiences for productivity, worker retention and lower office occupancy

After working with service providers to quickly enable remote work for most of their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. enterprises are increasingly focused on workplace transformations to support permanent hybrid work modes, according to a new report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2021 ISG Provider Lens™ Future of Work – Services and Solutions report for the U.S. finds the trend toward hybrid work, with some employees coming to the office while others work at home, is gaining traction after workplace technologies helped companies remain connected and productive during COVID lockdowns. Enterprises are interested in similar technologies to provide a seamless experience for employees wherever they work, which is now a major factor in attracting and retaining qualified workers.

“U.S. companies increasingly are working with their service providers to enable hybrid work,” said Dee Anthony, leader, ISG Future Workplace Solutions in the U.S. “Enterprises and providers are building deeper partnerships to frame workplace transformation strategies and manage increasingly diverse technology ecosystems.”

In the U.S., as in other regions, the pandemic has brought workplace and work-related technologies to the forefront as vital business enablers, ISG says. Service providers around the globe are moving beyond the traditional practice of implementing end-user computing elements to become cross-industry experts offering strategy, consulting and transformation services.

While firms in the U.S. are not expecting all employees to continue working from home, they are planning for lower office occupancy, according to ISG. Investments in virtual collaboration tools are a top priority for 72 percent of U.S. companies, the report says, citing third-party research. ISG finds that between 20 percent and 50 percent of managed service providers’ U.S. clients have stepped up their engagement with workplace transformation consulting.

U.S. companies are also seeking a broader range of managed services from their providers, looking beyond service desk operations toward device provisioning, lifecycle management and greater use of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation for predictive support, the report says. In addition, 35 percent of U.S. clients are migrating or have already migrated to a device-as-a-service model based on public clouds.

The scope of managed employee experience services is also expanding, ISG says. In addition to automated ticket resolution and predictive analytics, which are now standard offerings, providers are now demonstrating correlations between high-quality digital employee experiences and improved business performance. This market also has the potential for significant growth, as only 15 percent to 30 percent of providers’ U.S. clients have signed managed service contracts with service agreements based on specific digital experiences of end users, the report says.

The 2021 ISG Provider Lens™ Future of Work – Services and Solutions report for the U.S. evaluates the capabilities of 33 providers across four quadrants: Workplace Strategy Transformation Services, Managed Digital Workplace Services – Large Accounts, Managed Digital Workplace Services – Midmarket and Managed Employee Experience Services.

The report names HCL, TCS, Unisys and Wipro as Leaders in three quadrants each. Accenture, Atos, DXC Technology, Hexaware, Infosys and NTT DATA are named as Leaders in two quadrants each. Capgemini, Cognizant, Compucom, IBM, LTI and Zensar are named as Leaders in one quadrant each.

In addition, Bell Techlogix and Tech Mahindra are named as Rising Stars—companies with a “promising portfolio” and “high future potential” by ISG’s definition—in one quadrant each.

Customized versions of the report are available from Hexaware, LTI and Unisys.

The 2021 ISG Provider Lens™ Future of Work – Services and Solutions report for the U.S. is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage.

About ISG Provider Lens™ Research

The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Germany, Switzerland, the U.K., France, the Nordics, Brazil and Australia/New Zealand, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.

A companion research series, the ISG Provider Lens Archetype reports, offer a first-of-its-kind evaluation of providers from the perspective of specific buyer types.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 700 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.

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