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News

AFSMI Joins Service Research & Innovation Initiative

Service-Business Thought Leader Supports New Consortium To Address Critical Gap in Services Research, Innovation and Education

FORT MYERS, Fla., May 5, 2007 – The Association for Services Management International (AFSMI) today announced it has joined IBM, Oracle, the Technology Professional Services Association (TPSA), the Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) and 15 leading technology companies and academic researchers to help create the Service Research & Innovation Initiative. The mission of Service Research & Innovation Initiative (SRII) is to increase the amount of funding for services research, development and innovation in the technology industry.

For over 30 years, AFSMI has been dedicated to providing the educational programs, networking opportunities, and research that enhance the success of service business (s-business) executives, managers, and their companies.

“AFSMI has earned a reputation as a thought leader in s-business management strategies,” said John Schoenewald, Executive Director, AFSMI “We believe research is critical to the evolution of the service industry and will help drive the profitable growth of service organizations and assist those organizations in exceeding customer expectations. We embrace the Service Research & Innovation Initiative philosophy and we are proud to be a part of this important industry consortium.”

Through its involvement with SRII, AFSMI 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 further recommending best business practices.

Today’s news follows the recent announcement that AFSMI has joined forces with SSPA and TPSA to create the largest network of services associations dedicated to maximizing business value for members.

“Our professional relationships with organizations such as SSPA and TPSA and now SRII, illustrate our commitment to taking AFSMI to the next level of impact on behalf of our members,” said Schoenewald.

About the Service Research & Innovation Initiative

Jointly founded by IBM, Oracle, the Technology Professional Services Association (TPSA), and the Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA), the Service Research & Innovation Initiative (SRII) is a consortium of technology companies, government agencies and universities dedicated to fostering advancements in service research. The organization will accomplish this by raising awareness of this issue through conferences, symposia and the SRII Web site – the informational hub for the effort. Members include Cisco, CSC, EMC, HP, Microsoft, Unisys and Xerox. Academic participants include top researchers from UCLA, Cranfield School of Management, Wharton School of Business, Arizona State University, University of Maryland and University of California Silicon Valley Center at Santa Cruz. Government and research institutions include the European Commission and the Fraunhoffer Institute in Germany.

The SRII is headquartered in the Silicon Valley. Organizations who are interested in participating in and getting involved with the SRII should visit the Web site for more information - www.theSRII.org.