Brett Sparks is a VP Analyst at Gartner in the IT Leaders Sourcing, Procurement and Vendor Management team. Mr. Sparks covers the IT services market, in particular, managed services and trends, provider selection for ERP, DX, CRM, HCM initiatives, sourcing strategy, contracts and negotiation, and cost optimization. Mr. Sparks guides Gartner clients in injecting thought leadership, innovation and transformation into services partnerships. In addition to sourcing and vendor management, Mr. Sparks is also a futurist, researching how combinative solutions like quantum mechanics, immersive technologies and brain-computer interfaces will impact the evolution of humans on earth and beyond. Glimpses into these possible futures can be accessed in Gartner's Maverick research.
Mr. Sparks has over 30 years of experience in the IT industry including international operations management, program and project management, enterprise architecture, and mergers and acquisitions. He has worked in manufacturing, insurance, legal, health care, finance, and government industries on programs throughout EMEA, NA, and AP regions. He has led teams at Arthur Andersen, Ohio Casualty Group, Tempur-Pedic (now Tempur Sealy) and Lexmark International. Before entering the private sector, he served nine years active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps in various leadership roles around the globe. Childhood fascination with quantum mechanics/entanglement, astronomy and nature have survived, making everyday a discovery.
Lexmark International, Inc., Global Alliance Manager, Vendor Management, 13 years
Ohio Casualty Group, Enterprise Architect, 3 years
Tempur-Pedic, Global IT Infrastructure and Operations Manager, 2 years
Emerging Technologies and Trends Impact on Products and Services
IT Contracts Negotiations
IT Vendor Portfolio Management
Technology Innovation and Strategy
IT Sourcing Strategy Development and Execution
Develop and execute a sourcing strategies and effective partnerships for applications services
Injecting innovation and thought leadership into sourcing agreements
Best practices in establishing and managing SLAs, penalties and incentives for applications services
Cost optimization and holistic spend analysis to reduce technical debt, grow revenue and drive efficiencies
How to best govern and manage outsourced applications services provider delivery