Services firms look for revenue beyond Y2K
Now that the year 2000 is just around the corner, professional services providers are finding other areas to tap in order to replace Y2K services revenue, according to a new report.
San Jose, California-based Dataquest surveyed leading professional services firms to determine what their strategies for survival would be now that Y2K-related concerns have, for the most part, been tackled.
The report found that participants would focus more toward developing offerings targeted toward e-commerce, legacy migration/conversion, and enterprise resource planning software.
Every company surveyed noted that an integral part of their business development strategy would include either a partnership with other professional services providers or product companies, or an acquisition of the latter.
The report found that many participants said they would "actively" seek to form partnerships or purchase companies, which would allow them to expand new service offerings or grow already established practices.
All services providers surveyed said they plan to continue offering Y2K services over the next 12 to 18 months or until the demand for it disappears, according to the report.
"Although each business development strategy is unique, there is one common theme embraced by every vendor," Dataquest analyst Ted Kempf said in a statement. "Use Year 2000 professional services as a stepping stone for capturing new business."