STATE OF THE

SHARED SERVICES
MARKET REPORT
2019
Europe

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INTRODUCTION
Every year, SSON’s survey highlights enormous progression
in Shared Services’ evolution. The past couple of years have Every year, the Shared Services and
shown a clear move away from transactional, human-based
work towards data-driven, knowledge-based activity – enabled Outsourcing Network conducts a
by automation. comprehensive survey of the global
Yet, and despite the anxiety unleashed by automation, this has SSO market. The survey highlights
not translated to obvious job losses. Instead, Shared Services the key opportunities and challenges
Organisations are developing new competencies and taking
on growth without adding headcount, frequently by leveraging
represented by technology evolutions
new Centres of Expertise or Excellence (more than 2/3 of as well as skills shortages and new
European SSCs now leverage COEs) and expanding into new
service demands. This report focuses
services and geographies.
specifically on the trends identified by
The consistent and aggressive commitment to productivity
respondents across Europe. The global
improvement (3/4 of respondents target >5% improvements)
are keeping Shared Services leaders focused on innovative report based on nearly 700 responses
solutions that drive improvements in effectiveness, efficiency world-wide, will be issued in the spring
and performance. Today, that is predominantly achieved by
leveraging data analytics and automation as a tool. of 2019.

The medium for doing so is the Centre of Expertise.

This represents one of the most significant shifts over the past
year, based on SSON’s annual survey respondents. Honing
process expertise and specialisation via Centres of Expertise, or
Excellence, differentiates the “new and better” Shared Services
from the plain-vanilla model of old. COEs allow Shared Services
to deliver significantly improved service and performance that
positively impacts business customers.

This report outlines this trend, as well as a number of others, that

will guide best practices in the year ahead.


“A strong and obvious commitment to Centres of Expertise
is a driving force in modern-day Shared Services.”

Barbara Hodge
Global Editor
Shared Services and Outsourcing
Network [SSON]
barbara.hodge@ssonetwork.com

2 STATE OF THE SHARED SERVICES MARKET REPORT 2019 – EUROPE


THE MODERN SHARED
SERVICES MODEL
The European Shared Services market is characterised by
its maturity – but also its appetite for growth and expansion.
More than 40% of Shared Services are 7+ years old. And yet
the trend toward Shared Services is only growing as we see
from the 37% at an early stage of implementation or planning.

In other words, momentum is still growing.

Overall across Europe we see more mature centres in the

CEE region, but more of the early stage SSCs – in other words
growth – in Western Europe.

How old is your Shared Services Organisation (SSO)?

Planning stage 12%

ALL EUROPE
0-3 years 25%

4-6 20%

7-10 18%

10+ 24%

12% 13%
19% Planning stage
30%
0-3 years
CENTRAL
AND WESTERN 4-6
23%
EASTERN EUROPE 27%
EUROPE 7-10
22%
10+
15%
21% 18%

The services in scope still fall largely into the HR and F&A realm, with Procurement also
strong. Sales and Marketing is still on the lower end but Data Analytics is clearly pushing
forward – all similar to the trend displayed a year ago.

However, a strong shift emerging this year is that of Centres of Expertise or Excellence
(COEs) becoming a fixture. Last year, a number of respondents cited new services being
added in the areas of Change Management, Data Services, Automation, and Process
Improvement. This year, we see these types of services being solidified in Centres of
Expertise. More than 3/4 of European SSOs are now levering a COE. (In last year’s survey,
50% reported they were setting up or expanding in this area).

3 STATE OF THE SHARED SERVICES MARKET REPORT 2019 – EUROPE


 Which functional services does your centre provide?

HR 49%

F&A 58%

IT
46%

Sales &
16%
Marketing

Procurement 36%

Data Analytics 28%

Front-office
20%
support

Centre of
29%
Expertise-ba...

Other 21%

How are you planning to develop your SSO this year? (2018 Survey)

Setting up/expanding Centres of excellence in onshore locations 32%

Expanding in low cost locations 30%

Prioritizing a hub (global/regional) and Spoke (local/incountry) model 27%

Prioritizing a few global centres 25%

We don’t have a global footprint 24%

Setting up/expanding Centres of Excellence (eg data/automation) in 19%

offshore locations that have plenty of talent

Moving work back on- or nearshore 14%

Other 2%

This emphasis on COEs marks a critical watershed. It recognises Shared Services’

future value proposition in terms of the added value delivered beyond process
excellence. In other words, no longer is Shared Services mainly about transactional
excellence and improvement. What defines the modern SSO are the insights it
shares with the business based on a thorough understanding of services delivered,
optimised delivery via automation, and expanding its scope into analytics.

This report highlights Ten Trends emerging from this year’s survey, which emphasize the
new direction, strategies and value-add SSOs are carving out for themselves.

4 STATE OF THE SHARED SERVICES MARKET REPORT 2019 – EUROPE


TREND #1 WELCOME THE
CENTRE OF EXPERTISE
As highlighted above, the strong and obvious commitment to COEs is a driving force
in modern-day Shared Services. And while “expertise” takes multiple forms, the focus
today is predominantly on capabilities that drive performance. Thus, we see:

 Intelligent Automation (IA) including Robotic Process Automation (RPA);

 Data Analytics & Management;

 Business Process Expertise; and

 Continuous Improvement and Process Design

Strongly represented in these centres. An interesting note is that CEE-based centres

are more likely to offer IA- and Data Analytics-based services via COEs than their
Western Europe-based peers.

Are you leveraging a Centre of Expertise (COE)?

32%
 Yes

 No

68%

If you leverage a COE, which competencies does it support?

Robotic process automation/

intelligent automation 37%

Data analytics/management
29%

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TREND #2 FEWER & LARGER? – OR
SMALLER & MORE?
There are two options going forward: standardised
and bigger, but fewer; or smaller, localised, and more.
The choice will depend on business needs and
overall service objectives: Cost factors tend to drive
standardisation; customer-centricity a more tailored
service. In Europe, the defining trend appears to
be “fewer but larger”. This maps neatly to the 45%
of centres that provide global services, outranking
regional or incountry delivery models; and the 60% of
centres that provide multifunctional services.
Exactly how the impact of robotic automation and
other IA solutions will play out on resource allocation
decisions remains to be seen.
Given the growth trajectory of the Shared Services
model, scope expansion in terms of new service
offerings and/or geographic reach is not a surprise.
A third of European SSOs plan to expand their
geographic reach, and nearly 2/3 plan to expand
service offerings.

Some of this shift is being driven by automation. More Closer examination shows CEE centres to be
than 40% confirm reduced staffing in centres as significantly more ambitious in their plans to expand
robotic automation becomes more prevalent, with services.
only a third (compared to half in North America)
saying there is no change expected in staffing as a
result of automation.

Are you planning to expand the scope of your SSO over the next 12 months?
Central and Eastern Europe 49%
Western Europe 38%

Which best defines your overall Shared Services strategy?

FEWER – but perhaps larger centres 45%

MORE – but perhaps smaller and more localised centres 31%

N/A 17%

Other 7%

How will robotic automation and cognitive/AI

solutions impact your Shared Services strategy?

No change foreseen at this point 34%

We will not reduce the number of global SSCs 31%

We will reduce the number of SSCs globally 12%

We will reduce the number of SSCs globally 8%

as robots take on traditional work

Other (please specify) 7%

We will expand the numbers

of FTEs in our global centres
5%

We will launch additional SSCs globally 3%

6 STATE OF THE SHARED SERVICES MARKET REPORT 2019 – EUROPE

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TREND #3 CONTROL, AGILITY AND
CUSTOMER SERVICE EXCELLENCE
Traditionally, the benefits of Shared Services have
been measured primarily in terms of reduced
cost and time. This is still valid, however, given that
40% of European Shared Services are >7 years
old, the low hanging fruit has been well and truly
harvested. As a result, we see attention shifting to
the benefits of improved process control, process
standardization, and process optimization. The
knock-on effects are measured in terms of reduced
risk, better compliance, quality and reliability. Shared
Services’ adoption of automation is supporting
better controls, as exceptions are easily highlighted,
and enabling service agility – the ability to ramp
up or down, depending on enterprise need. Quick
reactions to changes in business requirements are
These benefits are driven by fairly aggressive
improvement targets. A quarter of European centres
are chasing 7-10% productivity improvement, with
nearly 30% targeting improvements above 10% (by
contrast, only 20% of North American centres are
targeting >10% improvements). Western Europe-
based centres are more aggressive in their targets
compared to their CEE-based peers: 35% of Western
Europe-based SSCs are targeting improvements of
>10% compared to 20% in the CEE.
“Customer Service is
becoming more important:


Last year 33% of respondents
thus facilitated.
listed it as a key benefit; this
Shared Services also supports the “scaling” of year 45% do.”
automation – i.e., expanding its reach. Standardised
processes are a prerequisite, but it’s also about the
expertise in rolling out new ways of working and
leveraging new competencies like data analytics.

One interesting shift we are seeing is that Customer

Service is becoming more important: last year 25% of
European respondents listed it as a key benefit; this
year a third did.

What are the most important benefits of Shared Services to your enterprise?

1%

14%
20% Control / standardisation / optimisation
73%
Cost and time
33%
Platform integration
Scaling and agility
Customer service
37%
Leveraging competencies around data
68% analytics and process automation
Other

What productivity improvements are you targeting in the next 12 months?

Central and Eastern Europe 20%

>10%
Western Europe 35%

7 STATE OF THE SHARED SERVICES MARKET REPORT 2019 – EUROPE


TREND #4 SMARTER WORK
The value-add many SSOs are chasing is based
not just on doing work but at the same time better
understanding it. Data analytics and business
insights are a growing opportunity to offer more
consultative support to business customers.
Promising knowledge services is not just a
public relations exercise. This year’s survey clearly
demonstrates what we already recognised a year
ago: Shared Services activity is moving firmly away
from transactional work and towards insight-driven
knowledge-based offerings, whereby there are
obvious challenges in terms of defining services and
transitioning to knowledge work.
While the ratios have remained fairly constant in
Europe over the past year, North American SSCs saw
a greater shift towards knowledge work. Compared
to European SSCs, in fact, North American centres
seems to be advancing towards this next level of
services at a faster rate.

To what extent are your services largely transactional or knowledge based?

46% European Centres
Western Europe

33%
30%
28%
23%

15%
11%
7%
2% 2%
1% 4%
I don’t know 0:100 25:75 50:50 75:25 100:0

Are you moving towards knowledge services?

Not at present 29%

Struggling with defining
23%
knowledge services

Struggling with transitioning to knowledge 18%

services/don’t have the skills

Yes, and it’s going well, roadmaps 25%

developed, milestones targeted
2%
Yes, and exceeding expectations

Other 3%

8 STATE OF THE SHARED SERVICES MARKET REPORT 2019 – EUROPE


TREND #5 OUTSOURCING TO
SOLVE PROBLEMS
Outsourcing has been somewhat neglected over
the past years as the excitement around automation
and its potential for taking over process work that
was traditionally outsourced distracted the market.
Nevertheless, outsourcing still plays an important role
in service delivery as the survey highlights.
However, expectations are shifting. Today’s customers
assume transactional performance as given. What
they are looking for, and are increasingly impatient
about, is more support in terms of Problem Solving,
Data Analytics, and Technology Leadership. The
value of a BPO partner – today as it was 10 or even
20 years ago – is about tapping into resources that
are either not readily available in-house or that are
already allocated to other departments. As BPO
providers have honed their service performance,
customers now expect them to leverage the process
expertise acquired to deliver enhanced services.
Many of these services, customers believe, should be
based on state-of-the-art automation and cognitive
solutions that customers’ budgets don’t stretch to.
The shift in behaviour is reflected in the relatively low
numbers that are still embracing largely FTE-based
contracts compared to output-based agreements.
There is also greater focus on analytics- and
workflow-based contracts.
Customers’ focus, therefore, is shifting to the ability of
providers to leverage new, innovative technology for
their benefit.
Despite the warnings frequently voiced in headlines
about organisations taking work back in-house as
a result of process automation, the survey does not
confirm this to be a significant trend. Whether this
will change remains to be seen. Certainly, outsource
providers should heed the message and focus on
a partnering role in which the customer’s objectives
determine service strategy.
[See also: BPO in the 2020s: How Leaders Will be
Positioned.]

If you outsource work, how are your expectations shifting?

We do NOT outsource 48%

Expect BPO provider to leverage RPA to 22%

improve performance/cost
Expect more value-add in terms of
21%
problem-solving
Expect more workflow / end-to-end
16%
expertise and support
Expect more data analytics/business
intelligence
13%

Expect more technical leadership/initiative 10%

Expect more transparency

8%
over work being done

Other 4%

9 STATE OF THE SHARED SERVICES MARKET REPORT 2019 – EUROPE


 If you outsource, how are your contracts evolving?

We don’t outsource 48%

Reducing cost year on year 15%

Increasingly output-based 14%

Longer term 13%

Still mainly FTE-based 12%

Integrating end-to-end
10%
workflow optimization

Shorter term 9%

Expanding into analytics-based

7%
value-add services

Incorporating gain-sharing 5%
(skin in the game) for provider

Other 3%

In the age of automation, how do you rate outsourcing?

We do not outsource / does not apply 36%

Still significant, but our focus is moving

from transactional (eg, ftes) to knowledge 23%
(eg, analytics) services
Still significant, as a means of tapping into 19%
new technology (eg, rpa) and skills

Less significant, as we can take some of

this work back in-house and automate
16%

No change 6%

Other 1%

The survey highlights some lags in areas that would be

expected to show greater proactive initiative. For example,
analytics-based services are certainly in demand and we
would expect customers to be looking to outsource providers
to hone these kinds of skills. Similarly, gain-sharing as a means
of aligning the objectives of the provider with those of the
customer would be a good strategic solution. The relatively high
ranking of output-based objectives reflected in contracts is
certainly a step in the right direction.

10 STATE OF THE SHARED SERVICES MARKET REPORT 2019 – EUROPE


TREND #6 THIRD-PARTY SUPPORT
Shared Services’ modus operandi is based on
optimising “back-office” work by professionalising it.
What that means, in effect, is that work traditionally
just done, is now done by experts. What was
administrative activity has become the sole purpose
of the Shared Services Centre, with productivity
constantly evaluated. Performance improvements
don’t just happen, however. Shared Services have
always been open to partnering with third-party
consultants and advisors to help identify gaps and
opportunities.
This need still exists. The survey confirms that
Shared Services leaders look for external support
and expertise in driving change management,
assessing performance and effectiveness, and
evaluating existing delivery models, above all. Today’s
environment and the adoption of technology and
automation only serve to highlight challenges
around “managing change.” (It is interesting to note
that European Shared Services leaders are more
likely to look for external support in transitioning to a
digital workplace than their North American peers –
28% compared to only 16% in North America.)
Transformation continues to succeed or fail on
the basis of effective planning and change
management. As new tools present themselves and
the nature and mode of work shifts as a result, we
can expect to see demand for advisory services
continuing.

In which area(s) would you be most likely to hire an external consultant?

To expand our global footprint

7%
by launching new centres

To expand our global capacity by growing/developing

13%
existing centres (e.g., adding new service lines)

To reassess our existing shared

26%
services delivery model

To redeploy the workload/reallocate

11%
staff as we adopt robotic automation

To help us develop
19%
a GBS model

To guide us in optimizing
16%
our outsourcing strategy

To support our staff/managers as they transition

28%
to robots in the workplace (i.e., cultural)

To support us in
31%
change management

To assess our current

23%
performance effectiveness

Other 8%

11 STATE OF THE SHARED SERVICES MARKET REPORT 2019 – EUROPE


TREND #7 DIGITAL SERVICE:
ADOPTING PROCESS
AUTOMATION
It’s been four years since Robotic Process
Automation emerged as a promising solution in
service delivery operations. Intelligent Automation,
as we have since come to think of it, continues to
make strong advances and is rapidly expanding
in enterprises that have adopted it. However, there
remains a significant part of the market that has
yet to get started.
One year ago, 70% of European enterprises
surveyed were at the testing or planning stage,
with just over 10% fully implemented. A year later
nearly 40% of enterprises confirm they have
already implemented automation, with more than
half of these scaling.
Automation that started at the desktop level
for specific task fixes is now morphing into a
platform-based capability that is driving enterprise
transformation in support of digitalisation. However,
this requires significantly greater commitment and
a stomach for change (see also SSON’s Global
IA Market Report 2018: How to Scale Automation).
While the impact of scaled automation can
be enormous, it requires a fairly comprehensive
understanding of automation as a value-driving
competency, distinguished from task-specific RPA
deployed as a “tool.”
The survey indicates that across Europe (and
somewhat in contrast to North America, where the
focus is still primarily on tasks) practitioners have
gained a broader grasp of automation’s capabilities
and are willing to embrace the change that goes
with it. This stands in contrast to North America where
it is still widely seen as a task-specific tool.
Providers across the board are positioning
themselves to meet the growing demand. Most
implementations to date still fall in the “five bots
and under” category, with a few selective leaders
who have committed more comprehensively to
robotic processing. There is plenty of opportunity
for growth, in other words.

Is Intelligent Automation (eg, RPA)

part of your operations?
Yes, implemented 16%

Yes, implemented and now scaling 21%

Testing / POC / Pilot 20%

Not yet, but planning 25%

Not now 16%

Other 1%

Do you see Intelligent Automation How many ‘robots’ (or ‘projects’)

(eg, RPA) as a tool or a competency? do you have in production?
1%
It’s primarily a tool to get <5
specific work done
21% 5-10
It’s primarily a value driving 32%
44% competency, with broader
36%
11-20
performance implications
we don’t use RPA 21-50

34% Other 15% >50

6%
6% 5% none

12 STATE OF THE SHARED SERVICES MARKET REPORT 2019 – EUROPE


TREND #8 SCALING AUTOMATION
AND OVERCOMING STALL POINTS
There are plenty of challenges to making
automation work. Where projects have failed,
the survey tells us this is predominantly due to
wrong process selection and insufficient change
management. It’s a message being posited again
and again. Careful planning, process evaluation
and selection for automation is crucial to success.
This points to the advantages of assembling an
experienced team from the start and incorporating
third-party expertise where in-house expertise is not
readily available.
Scaling drives the successes or wins derived from
automation exponentially. But there are numerous
hurdles or stall points that need to be if not overcome Global IA Market Report 2017.)
completely then at least planned for to avoid the
project being derailed. (It’s beyond the scope of this
report to delve into these stall points but readers are
referred to SSON’s Global IA Market Report 2018 for
more information.)
The extent to which automation can be scaled
up depends, among other things, on who owns
the strategy. Our survey shows this clearly to sit
with Shared Services, which allows the greatest
scope for leveraging across the enterprise via
standardised processes. Interestingly enough, and
somewhat in contrast to pervading best practice,
nearly one in five respondents indicate that
ownership of the automation strategy sits with IT.
This is still not as high a ratio as in North America,
however, where a quarter of respondents indicated
IT owns the automation strategy. (Again, readers
who are interested in understanding the potential
limitations of this approach are referred to SSON’s

Who owns the Intelligent

Where your IA/RPA project
Automation (eg, RPA)
has run into trouble, what
strategy that drives the
do you attribute this to?
‘digital workforce’?

5% Do not use IA /
32%
not applicable
9%
Process not mature
enough / not fit for 31%
14% the solution

55% Insufficient change

management 18%

18% Essential stakeholders

insufficiently on board 16%

Solution provider ended

up not being a fit for our 15%
Shared Services / project/business needs
Global Business Services
We have not
IT Department experienced trouble 14%
with our IA/RPA
Business Unit
Limited by insufficiently
Finance (CFO) developed data 11%
management plan
Other

Other 6%

13 STATE OF THE SHARED SERVICES MARKET REPORT 2019 – EUROPE


TREND #9 EMBRACING THE NEW
WORKFORCE
The modern workforce is significantly different from predominantly through change management
the one most of us grew up with.“Digital assistants” and training. Development of operations
(a.k.a. robotic software) will take on much of what management consoles that allow visibility to work
was traditionally manual and transactional work output will go some way towards eliminating these
– and in the past often outsourced. The work that concerns. However, the survey highlights that most
remains will increasingly revolve around a better organisations have not yet addressed this issue.
understanding of business objectives and will
leverage data analytics. Although feedback indicates significant
performance gains realised through automation
This presents significant challenges to HR leaders, – particularly in improved quality, productivity, and
predominantly in identifying, recruiting and fostering fewer errors – there are still obvious gaps that need
the innovative mindset required to move forward. The to be addressed. Lack of change management is
top skills gaps SSO leaders highlight are innovation, certainly hindering automation effectiveness.
data analytics, and leadership – similar to a year
ago. One area that may increasingly come under
the spotlight as Shared Services ramp up the
One of the challenges is to support management scope of automation: “incomplete ecosystems”
in transitioning to a hybrid workforce. In other words, are impeding the ability to scale. This refers to the
reassuring those used to overseeing human teams integrated network of enabling factors spanning
that they have the skills required to now oversee a data cleanliness and accessibility; skilled resources;
combination of humans and robots. This is causing adequate skills training; stakeholder support; and
a lot of anxiety, which organisations are countering internal partnerships.

What is your top Shared Services talent challenge?

Innovative mindset/ability to
44%
think outside the box

Leadership pipeline/skills 23%

Filling localized demand for

talent in certain regions 17%

Ensuring certain level of

technology awareness 7%

Other 6%

Redeploying employees
whose work is now done via 3%
automation

14 STATE OF THE SHARED SERVICES MARKET REPORT 2019 – EUROPE


 What are the biggest skills deficits within
your existing Shared Services staff?

Innovative thinking 36%

Data Analytics 30%
Process excellence 27%
Leadership skills 25%
Automation/technology 24%
General business acumen 17%
Communication 16%
Financial skills 15%
Functional expertise 14%

Negotiation/Relationship management 12%

Customer service 7%

Other 6%

How are you supporting management in transitioning to

managing a digital workforce alongside a human workforce?

Change Management planning 55%

Training for front line employees 39%
Recognition of contributing team members 38%
Adoption planning for management 27%
User feedback gathering for enhancements/fixes 19%
Naming bots/personification of automation 14%
Operations management consoles for work output visibility 12%
Other 7%

What is your experience with the digital workforce

(i.e. robotic automation) so far?

N/A 34%
Significantly improved /performance gain realised 19%
Insufficient change management hindering effectiveness 16%
Individual’s work is more fulfilling (“digital assistant”) 11%

Incomplete ecosystem impeding ability to scale 10%

Employee anxiety overshadows potential 6%

Other 5%

15 STATE OF THE SHARED SERVICES MARKET REPORT 2019 – EUROPE


 What are the top 3 benefits you’ve
realised from the digital workforce so far?

FTEs can focus on more value-added work 40%

Productivity increased, ability to work 24/7 29%
Enhanced quality and fewer errors 28%
Reduction in cost of service 22%
N/A 22%
Too early, just launching 18%

Automated integration between systems 13%

Ability of SSO to take on more scope w/out adding FTEs 12%

Enhanced controls / risk reduction (compliance) 10%

No benefits to date 2%

Other 1%

The value of the digital workforce is clearly recognised

and integrated into modern-day shared services
operations. Survey respondents clearly indicate the
ability of their employees to focus on more value-
added work as a big win resulting from automation.
In addition, improved productivity and quality, along
with lower costs, weigh heavily in favor of process
automation.

Where we would expect to see more emphasis in future

is on the ability of Shared Services to take on more
work or scope without adding headcount. Anecdotally,
practitioners often reference this as a significant benefit.

16 STATE OF THE SHARED SERVICES MARKET REPORT 2019 – EUROPE


TREND #10 TOMORROW’S
BRAVE NEW WORLD:
HOW READY ARE YOU?
While we are still in the early days of automation
adoption in Shared Services (see above), already,
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is grabbing headlines. Last
year we asked whether AI was on Shared Services
leaders’ agendas. Although actual implementations
were low, nearly half the respondents indicated they
were considering AI and 18% were testing it.
This year, we see this trend developing, with 66%
of centres implementing, testing, or planning AI
(with those who plan to invest in new automation
solutions fixating predominantly on AI and
Machine Learning).
It may be a case of enthusiasm and perceived
significance getting the better of the market, however.
Very few of the survey’s respondents are currently in a
position to take advantage of these new tools.
2018 Survey: Is AI on your agenda?
Yes, implimented 3%
Yes, testing 18%
Not yet, but planning 45%
33%
Not right now
1%
Other
17 STATE OF THE SHARED SERVICES MARKET REPORT 2019 – EUROPE
When asked whether current resources would allow
them to leverage new automation solutions, the
majority of respondents confirmed they did not, with
the exception of Machine Learning, where more
than half the respondents showed themselves to be
optimistic. Blockchain stands out as the area where,
at least for now, Shared Services are least prepared
to take advantage of emerging opportunities.
Similarly, many of the new automation solutions
depend on data, and lots of it, to “feed the
automation beast.” Most respondents, however,
are not currently in a position to tap into the data
required.
More significantly, there is still a lot of work to be
done in educating the market. Roughly half the
respondents do not have a clear understanding of
the potential of new intelligent automation solutions.
Machine Learning and AI tend to rank higher in
terms of customers’ presumed understanding of
their potential. Whether this is based on fact or fiction
remains to be seen.
One interesting comparison across North America
and Europe is that European respondents appear
to have a higher level of understanding of emerging
solutions’ potential, across the board. It’s still too early
to say whether that means European SSCs will be
adopting these tools at a faster rate, or even earlier.
But it does speak for greater awareness of how
automation will catapult Shared Services forward.
Do you plan on integrating other
intelligent automation (IA) tools? If
yes, which?
Machine Learning 35%
No plans at present 35%
Artificial Intelligence 34%
Intelligent Chatbots 32%
Cognitive solutions 23%
Blockchain 16%
Other 2%

Can you currently tap into resources  Yes
to leverage additional IA solutions?  No 81%

60%
60%
56%
53%
47%
44%
40% 40%

19%

Cognitive Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Intelligent Chatbots Blockchain

Do you have ready access to the data  Yes

required to leverage new IA solutions?  No 84%

66% 66% 67%

49% 51%

34% 34%
33%

16%

Cognitive Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Intelligent Chatbots Blockchain

 Yes
Do you have a clear understanding of the potential of
these new IA solutions for your operations?  No

78%

60%
53% 52% 54%
47% 48%
46%
40%

22%

Cognitive Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Intelligent Chatbots Blockchain

18 STATE OF THE SHARED SERVICES MARKET REPORT 2019 – EUROPE


SUMMARY
Whilst Shared Services have worked hard over the past two or three decades to gain respect for both their
output and their productivity, not since the early days of outsourcing has there been such an opportunity to
leverage a competitive advantage.

The trend towards automation adoption continues, as does the appetite for brand new emerging AI- and
Cognitive-driven solutions. Twenty years ago, the talk was of “lights out” processing. Not much happened in
the intervening time period. Now, suddenly, that promise seems all too real – and within reach.

But processing and technology only represent two of Shared Services’ three prongs – the other being
people. For many, people remain the most influential factor. In fact, we are already hearing voices
suggesting that humans need to be re-integrated into the process (and that, despite automation only just
having taken off).

Cracking the talent dilemma will remain top of Shared Services leaders’ lists. More specifically, the challenge
lies in identifying what kind of work humans will be redeployed to, how to prepare them for this work, and
how to manage the transition.

Plenty of work ahead.

TECHNOLOGY

PROCESSES PEOPLE

19 STATE OF THE SHARED SERVICES MARKET REPORT 2019 – EUROPE


ABOUT SSOW EUROPE 19
Digitally Empowered Service: Innovate, Transform, Deliver
13TH - 16TH MAY 2019  |  THE ESTORIL CONGRESS CENTER, LISBON, PORTUGAL

2019
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ABOUT THE SHARED

SERVICES & OUTSOURCING
NETWORK (SSON)
The Shared Services & Outsourcing Network (SSON) is the world’s 140,000+
largest and most established community of shared services and Members
outsourcing professionals, with over 140,000 members. For the past
25 years, SSON has been providing shared services professionals
with the resources and connections they need to succeed, through 2,000+
industry-leading events; digital content such as reports, surveys, Reports & Articles
interviews, editorial, white papers, videos, and infographics; and data
analytics. SSON operates under three distinct brands: SSON, SSON
Analytics, and SSO Week, the world’s largest and longest running 9 Annual
shared services event series. Online events

ABOUT SSON ANALYTICS

SSON Analytics provides visual data insights tailor-made for the Shared
Services & Outsourcing industry. You can interact, interrogate and 3,800+
manipulate the data to: Shared Service
Locations
• Gain tailored perspectives
• Build compelling business cases
• Measure the impact of your shared services centre 107
WHAT WILL YOU GAIN ACCESS TO? Unique Metrics
• 100+ Data Reports
• 5 Data Tools:
– Metric Benchmarker 100+
– Intelligent Automation Universe Data Reports
– Tax Incentives & Benefits Calculator TM
– City Cube
– Shared Services & BPO Atlas

20 STATE OF THE SHARED SERVICES MARKET REPORT 2019 – EUROPE

