The John & Ola Show | Episode 4: Strategic Sourcing vs. Cost Optimization CoE

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Featuring guest speaker Bill Huber, Partner, Digital Platforms and Solutions.

The John and Ola show is a live, 30-minute webcast hosted by ISG’s John Boccuzzi, Jr. and Ola Chowning. They started the show to discuss the technology and business challenges all their clients were facing in an easy-to-digest format.

The show thrives on high energy conversations, audience questions and a diverse group of guests. John and Ola cover unique points of view, late breaking trends and compelling technology marketplace research updates.

Tune in every other Thursday at 10:00 am ET on LinkedIn!



Watch new episodes of John and Ola live at 10 am ET every other Thursday on our corporate LinkedIn page! For more episodes and to learn about the series, visit the main page of Thursdays Live with John and Ola.
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About the authors

John Boccuzzi, Jr.

John Boccuzzi, Jr.

What he does at ISG

John was named Partner and President of ISG Research in January 2024 and is responsible for the ISG Research business globally, including such products as ISG Provider Lens™, ISG ProBenchmark™, ISG Momentum® and ISG Events.

Past achievements for clients

John serves enterprises, technology and software companies globally to help them achieve operational excellence and accelerate growth. John joined ISG in 2019 and most recently was Partner and Chief Sales Officer, ISG Research. John is the creator and co-host of the ISG John and Ola Show, a LinkedIn Live broadcast. John has twenty-five years of executive and sales management experience working in the retail and data analytics industries.
 
Ola Chowning

Ola Chowning

What she does at ISG

Ola is a passionate thought leader in emerging delivery models that contemplate the rapidly changing technology landscape. She advises organizations in the opportunities related to emerging technologies, digital transformation, provider ecosystems, new ways of working, and the culture of product-oriented delivery. Ola is fluent in Adaptive Organizations, Digital Strategy, Sourcing, Enterprise Agility, DevOps, Cloud and modern architectures, helping clients evolve their technology landscape, operating models and cultures. Ola is ISG's Digital Lead for North Europe and a member of the European Leadership Team.

Past achievements for clients

In her positions as digital lead for North Europe as well as a firm partner, Ola expands the reach of ISG’s enterprise and digital solutions. But these roles also allow her to impart to her clients tried-and-true advice based on years of experience as both a technologist and service provider. At times, Ola may point you in a faster, more rigorous direction than you were anticipating—simply one of the many ways she relentlessly champions her clients’ technological evolutions across every industry.

Having never told a client to deploy something she wouldn’t do (or hasn’t already done) herself, Ola’s goal-oriented gusto has resulted in many successes for her clients:

  • She advised a partially transformed logistics company (that had a pervasive, costly architectural sprawl issue) to create standards, guardrails and integrated roadmaps to promote efficiency and velocity using what was currently working well. Ola helped spark synergies among the teams impacted, and in only eight weeks, teams saw as much as a 200% increase in their throughput.

  • On a tight deadline and limited budget, she applied Agile and modern delivery model principles to convert a brick-and-mortar's business model (with legacy systems and cumbersome practices that were seemingly incompatible with a more collaborative way of working) into a modern digital setting.

Bill Huber

Bill Huber

Signature traits: Big picture systems thinker and sourcing expert.  Transformation and cost optimization-focused.  Pragmatic and experienced.

Bill works with the world’s leading companies to identify, implement, and accelerate improved capabilities and better ways of working, and to align and optimize the network of strategic suppliers and partners.  These efforts have driven hundreds of millions in savings for his clients. 

Recent projects include helping major manufacturers and healthcare companies to implement broad cost optimization strategies, assisting utilities and medical device companies with their SAP strategies, assisting a leading fashion brand with its IT transformation, eCommerce, and SAP implementation, and working with a global cruise line on negotiation of its reservation and loyalty platform. Prior projects include:

  • Leading several global ITO and BPO projects for the leading cereal and snack food company
  • Infrastructure outsourcing for a leading regional US Bank
  • Implementation of an IT capabilities facility for a low-cost carrier

Prior to his current position, Bill lead ISG’s software advisory practice, lead ISG’s healthcare vertical, co-led ISG’s BPO practice and was a director in ISG’s strategy practice.