Phil Fersht, HFS Research

Phil Fersht is widely recognized as the world's leading analyst focused on reinventing business operations to exploit AI innovations and the globalization of talent. He recently coined the term "Services-as-Software" to describe the future of professional services, where people-based work is blurring with technology.

Fersht identifies change agents enabling organizations to access critical data and exploit the huge global talent base. He trademarked the term “Generative Enterprise” in 2023, articulating the pursuit of AI technologies based on Language Models to reap huge business benefits for organizations seeing to continuously generating new ideas, redefine how work gets done, and disrupt business models steeped in decades of antiquated processes and technology.

His reputation drove him to establish HFS Research in 2010, which today is one of the leading industry analyst and advisory firms and the undisputed leader in business and tech services and process technologies research.

In 2012, he authored the first analyst report on Robotic Process Automation (RPA), introducing this topic to the industry. He is widely recognized as the pioneering analyst voice that created and inspired today's RPA and process AI industry.

Fersht coined the term "OneOffice" in 2016, which describes HFS' vision for future business operations amidst the impact of cloud, automation, AI, and disruptive digital business models. OneOffice is the foundation of the hybrid (virtual-physical) workforce, where automation and AI tools augment the employee’s digital capabilities, and the workplace becomes a plug-and-play, work-from-anywhere scenario. Silos between front and back-office are collapsed into one single office, where employees are empowered and motivated by common outcomes and values.

Prior to founding HFS in 2010, Phil has held various analyst roles for Gartner (AMR) and IDC and was BPO Marketplace leader for Deloitte Consulting across the United States. Over the past 20 years, Fersht has lived and worked in Europe, North America, and Asia, where he has advised on hundreds of operations strategies, outsourcing, and global business services engagements.

He is also the author of the most widely read and acclaimed blog in the global services industry, “Horses for Sources,” which is now entering its 19th year. He regularly speaks at major industry events such as NASSCOM, ABSL, and HFS Research Summits. He has been named Analyst of the Year three times by the Institute of Industry Analyst Relations.