STAMFORD, Conn., Sept. 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm, has released three new episodes of the ISG Smartalks™ podcast series, exploring the growth of service orchestration between humans and robots, the impact of 5G, and the dramatic changes in sourcing over the past two decades.

In episode five, Service Orchestration – What is it and Why is it Important?, ISG Partner Barry Matthews talks with special guest Kit Cox, CEO and founder of service orchestration platform Enate, about the growth of human-robot orchestration and its impact on enterprise digital transformation. Matthews and Cox discuss how human and digital workforces collaborate to deliver different aspects of the same business processes; how to educate the next generation in transformative technologies; the real impact of automation and AI on business; the speed of change in the robotic process automation (RPA) market, and the rise of new vendors.

"Enterprises are increasingly challenged to provide oversight and visibility across processes and effectively manage resources to ensure high levels of productivity," Matthews said. "Rules-based processing will eventually be handled by technology, so businesses must focus on innately human skills, such as creativity and empathy, in order to stand apart from machines."

Episode six, 5G and Network Sourcing, covers the networks that connect devices and enable our digital lives. ISG network experts Phil Hugus, partner, and Jon Harrod, director, talk to Matthews about what 5G will mean for the network sourcing market, both for service providers and their customers, and the role it will play in transforming business.

Episode seven, The Sourcing Industry – Past, Present and Future, features Matthews and Stanton Jones, director and principal analyst with ISG Research, on the dramatic changes in the sourcing industry over the past two decades, as tracked by the ISG Index™, which has been assessing and analyzing the state of the global IT services market for 17 years.

Matthews and Jones explore the evolution of deal size, which has gone from massive, billion-dollar deals, often awarded to a single provider, to today's smaller, smarter, shorter and more agile contracts. This episode explores how the proliferation of cloud and specialist providers has contributed to this evolution, and what the next phase of sourcing deals might look like.

"The entire market is becoming more fragmented, and clients are more interested in working with specialists alongside traditional providers," Matthews said. "Clients favor shorter, smaller contracts that allow them to remain nimble in the face of rapid-fire changes in the technology landscape and shifting business and consumer demands. Many clients also want to work with multiple providers under one contract."

The ISG Smartalks podcast series features a different guest each episode, and examines the impact on business of some of today's most challenging industry issues and disruptive technologies, such as artificial intelligence, robotic process automation, security, the future of work, trends in sourcing, Agile and DevOps, the platform economy, fostering innovation and 5G. Guests include leading tech visionaries, subject-matter experts and industry analysts discussing the latest market trends, forecasts and business applications of digital technology.

The ISG Smartalks podcast series is available on the ISG website, as well as on Apple Podcasts, Player FM, Spotify, Stitcher and YouTube.

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 70 of the top 100 enterprises in the world, 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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SOURCE Information Services Group, Inc.