Hi I am Simon Appleyard, Transformation Lead at Yorkshire Water and Co Chair for the Digital Network.
WHERE WAS I 10 YEARS AGO?
10 years ago I was Solutions Director for Steria, prior to their takeover by Sopra group, but after they had themselves taken over Xansa. I came from the Xansa side where the focus had been on business process outsourcing and so I was heavily involved in outsource deals to take on and support a range of back office services. I led the solutions teams who worked on those bids and on the improvement initiatives we drove in delivery. Later, we would turn that focus towards consulting, building our capabilities out of our delivery experience but in 2010 the outsourcing market was still strong and very much the core focus.
WHERE DO I SEE MYSELF IN 10 YEARS?
Well, hopefully in 10 years time, I will be on the outside looking in on this industry and, ideally, spending a lot of time travelling (for pleasure not business) and on the golf course! Before I get to that stage though I think there will be a lot of change across Shared Services and back office services in general. What I would really hope to see however is organisations realising that having a focus on their core processes, and then aligning their back office functions (including shared services) to the needs of those core processes, is the most effective route to success. While new technologies and digital solutions offer huge benefits and efficiencies the underlying principles remain the same. Too often organisations remained tied to traditional ways of working and back office functions sit in relative isolation to the core business units they support. I would very much hope to see more change in that area in the next 10 years and to be working with clients to achieve their goals in this area.
WHAT DO I LOVE ABOUT SHARED SERVICES FORUM UK?
The Shared Services Forum offers a great opportunity to share ideas and experience and to act as a support network for organisations as they look to adopt new ways of working. Like any network, its members get more out of it the more they put into it and all our members have the opportunity to help grow, develop and improve the SSF as a whole. In addition, it offers a fantastic opportunity to meet people working in the same industry and to build those invaluable personal relationships.
