Press Releases
Corporations, Academia, and Government Institutions Come Together in the Name of Services Innovation
Leaders from TPSA, IBM, Karlsruhe Service Research Institute, Telematica Instituut/NOVAY, and the Service Research & Innovation Initiative present cutting-edge projects underway to drive services innovation.
SAN DIEGO, April 2, 2009 – Key leaders representing business, academic, and government institutions came together to present key projects currently underway that are at the cutting edge of services science and innovation. These projects were unveiled during a high-level panel session at the Technology Services Europe 2009 (TSE09) conference, jointly hosted by AFSMI, SSPA, and TPSA—the three leading professional associations of the services and support industry.
The service industry has surpassed manufacturing and agriculture to become the fastest-growing and most dominant industry in the world economy. While services now comprise the majority of GNP, businesses, government, and academia have not increased their investment in service research and innovation to keep up with this growth and the impact it is having around the globe. At a time when customers are demanding more business value, companies must learn to innovate in this rapidly growing and strategic part of their business. This panel session provided participants an opportunity to hear firsthand about cutting-edge projects that industry, universities, and government are currently involved in, the economic benefits they have received to date, and the goals they are projected to achieve in the near future.
The panel was moderated by Thomas Lah, TPSA co-founder and executive director. Panelists included Prof. Dr. Gerhard Satzger, Karlsruhe Service Research Institute director; Dr. Wil Janssen, manager of business development, Telematica Instituut/NOVAY, The Netherlands; and Kris Singh, president, SRII and director of Strategic Programs, Service Science Research, IBM Almaden Research Center.
"It was clear from the panel discussions that both industry and academia will benefit from collaborative efforts that result in both services innovation and the ability to develop services skills in graduating students," said Thomas Lah, TPSA cofounder and executive director. The participating audience agreed that investments in services science can generate economic returns that are both large and fast. "The challenge is to help executives understand that services research has the same potential as product research to generate significant financial return."
Over 100 European-based services professionals are attending TSE09, discovering the latest technologies in services, learning the best practices from the best in the business, and directly and positively impacting their bottom lines by staying ahead of the pack. More information can be found at www.technologyserviceseurope.com.
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About AFSMI
The Association for Services Management International (AFSMI) is the global leader in helping service professionals and field services organizations deliver more value to their customers. www.afsmi.com
About SSPA
The Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) is the largest and most influential industry trade group for technology service and support professionals. www.thesspa.com
About TPSA
The Technology Professional Services Association (TPSA) is the only organization for executives who create, deliver, manage, measure, and optimize technology professional services in the world’s leading corporations. www.tpsaonline.com
Contact:
Tom Rich, Senior Vice President, Member and Partner Programs, AFSMI, SSPA, TPSA
978-466-5063
trich@tpsaonline.com
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