New Advisory Analyst Firm -- Horses for Sources -- Announces Official Launch

MIDDLETOWN, NJ--(Marketwire - March 2, 2010) - Uniquely qualified to launch the outsourcing industry's newest advisory analyst firm, Phil Fersht, today shared details of the official launch of the companion company that shares the namesake of his enormously popular blog, Horses for Sources. Horses for Sources (Horses) covers business process outsourcing (BPO), information technology outsourcing (ITO), and industry-specific process outsourcing. Focused on end users as its primary client base, it is a true analyst firm with innovative research tools based in its established social media presence.

Fersht explained, "Originally launched in 2007 as a blog that now has more than 80,000 regular visitors from around the world, the Horses for Sources analyst firm is a logical progression. We're widely recognized as the leading destination for collective insight, research and a forum for open debate on industry issues and developments. The launch of our analyst firm gives enterprise buyers a unique channel for independent outsourcing domain expertise, where they can draw upon research that leverages our huge industry community, in addition to our analyst knowledge and experience."

The latest Horses industry survey, conducted in January, leveraged the Horses' expansive network to survey over 1000 senior-level participants across the industry on their outsourcing intentions and experiences. No other analyst entity has a network platform to deliver such rapid insight to market across buy and sell-side outsourcing communities. You can read the unique and hard-hitting analysis of this study by clicking here.

An extended podcast interview with Fersht, detailing the launch of the new firm, is accessible starting today at SageCircle.

The core analyst team at Horses is comprised of experienced researchers, writers and industry practitioners who are deeply engaged in tracking outsourcing markets to deliver insights and deep research as well as provide client-centric strategic advice. Fersht, whose credentials include significant expertise in finance, HR, supply chain BPO, and the convergence of BPO, SaaS and Cloud in a business utility context, is joined by:

--  Lee Coulter, former senior vice president of Global Shared Services,
    Kraft - Coulter is an expert in Shared Services, Information
    Technology, and Business Process Outsourcing.
--  Mindy Blodgett, former analyst with Yankee Group as well as former
    senior editor at CIO and Computerworld magazine - Blodgett is Horses'
    Research Director with a focus on Human Resource and BPO services.
--  Bruce McCracken has extensive experience as an analyst and writer in
    the outsourcing industry over the last decade - McCracken covers
    finance and accounting, as well as call center outsourcing services for
    Horses, with a particular emphasis on how customers can achieve
    improved levels of productivity and innovation from outsourcing
    engagements.

Expert contributors to Horses include Jason Busch on procurement and strategic sourcing and Yasha Stelzner on human resources and talent strategies. Additional staff announcements are expected shortly.

When asked to explain his firm's name, Fersht pointed to the "mostly British expression urging someone to stick to the thing he knows best. 'Horses for courses' comes from the horse racing world, where it is widely assumed that some horses race better on certain courses than on others. We always felt this phrase summed up the experiences of both vendors and buyers that have danced around with outsourcing relationships over the years. An outsourcing engagement that works well for one firm in its particular circumstances may not be as successful for another; there is no one-size-fits-all solution, when you are dealing with a company's people, processes and technology. And it's our intent to deliver this focused intensity to our research."

Fersht added that Horses for Sources had already welcomed several new clients pre-launch and is actively soliciting additional business. More information about Horses for Sources can be accessed at www.horsesforsources.com. The company can be followed on Twitter at twitter.com/horses4sources and LinkedIn by joining "The BPO and Offshoring Best Practices Forum group."