Service Research & Innovation Initiative (SRII)

Jointly founded by IBM, Oracle, the Technology Professional Services Association (TPSA) and the Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA), the Service Research & Innovation Initiative is a consortium of technology companies, government agencies and universities dedicated to fostering advancements in service research. The organization will accomplish its goals by raising awareness of the need for services research through conferences, symposia and the Service Research & Innovation Initiative Web site (www.thesrii.org) – the informational hub for the effort.

Advisory Board Members include the Association for Services Management International (AFSMI), Cisco, EMC, HP, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, Unisys and Xerox. Academic participants include top researchers from UCLA, Cranfield School of Management, Wharton School of Business, Arizona State University, University of Maryland, University of California Silicon Valley Center at Santa Cruz and the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, India. Government and research institutions include the European Commission and the Fraunhoffer Institute in Germany.

In the United States alone, services now account for 80 percent of the total gross domestic product according to the National Academy of Engineering. According to TPSA and SSPA, services revenues have now surpassed product revenues for the largest 50 companies in enterprise technology. As services become a leading economic driver, businesses, government and academia must increase service research and innovation. Without research and innovation, the gap between customer demands and the industry’s ability to deliver value poses serious competitive and economic threats.

The SRII is striving for the following commitments:

Corporations – Commit to funding a permanent service R&D budget; active involvement in the SRI community and work with government and academia to develop service research;
Governments – Sponsor research in universities and applied research centers; get involved in the SRI community; work with industry and academia to develop service research;
Academic Institutions – Increase core research in services, establish curricula, programs and degrees for service disciplines (e.g. management, operations, design, etc.); collaborate with industry to develop research in commercially relevant areas; get involved in the SRI community.

By joining SRII, companies can pool their R&D dollars with other organizations, governments or institutions, and have the opportunity to influence the direction of SRII. Members will also gain access to a portal of information, including existing research, funding recommendations and market analysis papers. As the consortium gathers more industry data and participation, SRII anticipates periodically issuing reports on the state of the industry and recommending best business practices.

Join the global community of service practitioners and researchers, visit the SRII website.

Service Research & Innovation Initiative (SRII)

News & Updates