At the annual summit of the international association for corporate real estate executives (Nacore), held before Christmas, Simon Ward, Cisco's senior director of real estate and workplace resources, said that Cisco's aim was to outsource as many business functions as possible.
He said: 'We would consider a corporate PFI. We want to reduce costs and add value.'
Speaking on the future of the corporate real estate supply chain, he told delegates that Cisco would not outsource its strategic planning and relationship management functions.
Outsourcing could bring increased business focus, the chance to be proactive internally and the ability to tap into best practice, said Ward.
Some present were sceptical, saying they would find it hard to trust a contractor with so much responsibility when outsourcing on such a grand scale.
Ward agreed in principle saying that trust is key. This wariness explains why companies such as Abbey National which looked long and hard at the corporate PFI route, finally rejected it.
Fellow speaker, Simon O'Reilly, partner at Healey & Baker, said the fear factor was leaving many corporate real estate managers unsure what to outsource and what to keep in-house.
Forecaster, Dr James Bellini predicted that a typical business in the year 2020 would have no need for fixed assets. He said successful businesses would not have an HQ building, would not own any IT hardware, and will have only one tenth of the fixed assets that they do today.
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The Facilities Business
