SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--According to SPI Research’s “The 2011 Professional Services Maturity Benchmark” report out of 214 participating companies, 19 SaaS PS organizations achieved the highest overall net profit of 23.1% compared to eight other industry segments whose average net profit was 6.6%.
2010 marked the beginning of a strong recovery for the professional service sector. The leading indicators for growth are all up as are average bill rates. Despite a big setback in 2009, the professional service sector rebounded in 2010 with even stronger growth predicted for 2011.
This year’s highlights include: http://www.spiresearch.com/reports/rpt11PSMB.htm
- Revenue growth: annual revenue growth, headcount increases, and percentage of revenue in backlog were all up in 2010, recovering nicely after a significant decline in 2009. Year-over-year revenue growth has consistently outpaced year-over-year headcount growth (7.6% and 6.9% respectively) which means PSO’s are continuing to ratchet up productivity.
- Bill rates are up: After a steep decline in bill rates in 2009, average bill rates increased slightly from $175 to $178 per hour. The big news in bill rates is embedded PS organizations increased their average rates by 7% while independent bill rates declined by -3%. This significant disparity in bill rates is the primary reason embedded service organizations outperformed independents in 2010.
- Salaries are up: After three years of layoffs, headcount and salary freezes, base salaries increased significantly across all major job categories. The average base salary for six job titles (project manager, business consultant, technical consultant, solution architect, account manager and training specialist) jumped 11% from 2009 to 2010.
The complete 222 page report, which contains 249 insightful charts and tables, is now available for $995.
Click here to see the table of contents: http://www.spiresearch.com/reports/rpt11PSMB.htm
Corporate sponsors included FinancialForce; Citrix; Intacct; Microsoft; OpenAir/NetSuite, and Projector PSA. Association sponsors included ITAlliance and PS Journal.
The 2011 Professional Services Maturity Benchmark report was created by Jeanne Urich and R. David Hofferberth, P.E. . It provides information gleaned from 611 PS organizations over the past four years. The report contains:
- Analysis of 180 key performance indicators (KPIs)
- Base, bonus and bill rate information for 11 job titles
- Nine PS vertical markets: Accounting, Advertising (Marcom), Architecture/Engineering, IT Consulting, Management Consulting, PS within HW and Networking, PS within SaaS and Software companies
- Detailed profit and loss statements
Here is what others are saying…
“We find the 2011 PS Maturity Benchmark to be absolutely invaluable. We use the benchmark frequently as a basis of comparison but also to diagnose problems and opportunities to improve our business. I have not been able to find data as comprehensive from any other source.”
Gord Smith Partner, Ideaca Knowledge Services
“The PS Maturity Benchmark report is an outstanding resource that serves as the information backbone I use to manage our PS Practice including: revenue and profitability goal setting; billable utilization targets; and services pricing establishment. The key metrics included in this report provide the ruler by which our organization is measured.”
Brandon Walsh
VP, Professional Services
Clearpath
Solutions Group
“This is an extremely comprehensive study of the Professional Services industry. It provides incredible insights into the key metrics, trends and demographics of PS practices that allow you to compare your practice against others in the industry. This body of work is invaluable to anyone leading a Professional Services practice.”
Chad Williams
Vice President, Services and
Renewals
Advent Software
About Service Performance Insight
Service Performance Insight focuses on the global service economy. SPI provides a unique depth of operating experience combined with unsurpassed analytic capability. SPI helps clients ignite performance by objectively assessing strengths and weaknesses to develop a full-faceted improvement plan, with measurable time-bound objectives.
SPI Research provides an informed and actionable third-party perspective for service executives and technology providers. Our market research and reporting forms the context in which both buyers and sellers of information technology-based solutions maximize the effectiveness of solution development, selection, deployment and use.