ETL – What the Best IT Services Firms Do Differently with Thought Leadership – Manish Bahl & Alan Alper

IT services has become the largest sector in the $5.4 trillion global IT industry. But it’s also become a highly competitive sector. In the U.S. alone, the number of IT services firms increased 37% between 2002 and 2022 (Census Bureau). The result? The companies that hire IT services firms have more trouble determining which ones to use. That's why many IT services firms are turning to thought leadership. They see the need to demonstrate their unique expertise. On this episode, Bob Buday, Alan Alper and Manish Bahl walk you through a study they conducted in 2025 that has huge implications for IT services firms that must differentiate themselves to grow faster. The trio discuss key findings from the research, which included a survey of 300 IT services firms, a survey of 200 executives who decide on which IT services firms to use, and 20 interviews with thought leadership professionals in the industry, their clients and others. Read the full study at: https://itthoughtleadership.com/ Alan is an affiliate of Buday Thought Leadership Partners, and Manish is founder and director of market researcher Curious Insights. Both worked in thought leadership at Cognizant, whose thought leadership and marketing investments helped increase revenue 7-fold between 2007 and 2021. Everything Thought Leadership is a video and podcast series from Buday TLP for thought leaders and thought leadership professionals; the people who help experts get recognized as thought leaders. Episodes release monthly, preceded by trailers and followed with short snippets of wisdom from the interviews.