GBS Standards

Home GBS Standards

Defining Global Business Services Excellence

Inixia contributes actively to the APEX GBS Standards, the definitive global guide for organizations seeking to transform their business operations into engines of strategic value. Developed by the Alliance for Professional Excellence in Global Business Services (APEX GBS) Standards Committee, this comprehensive, practitioner-led resource redefines how enterprises design, operate, and evolve their GBS organizations.

Inixia’s founders, Filippo Passerini and Tony Saldanha, are among the primary authors of the Standards, bringing decades of hands-on transformation experience and leadership from Procter & Gamble’s world-renowned GBS organization.

The APEX GBS Standards is a living document, continually refined through contributions from the global GBS community. It reflects the latest thinking, technologies, and practices from leaders at organizations including Johnson & Johnson, Mars, Cardinal Health, and many others. Version 2 was published in autumn of 2025.

About Version 2
Version 2 represents a major evolution of the original Standards, created in response to the rapid transformation of global enterprise operations. It expands on the foundational GBS model to address how modern organizations can achieve agility, scale, and innovation in an era defined by AI and digital disruption.

Get the APEX GBS STANDARDS VERSION 2 HERE

Visit Website
This New Edition Introduces:

Artificial Intelligence in GBS: Detailed guidance on how to integrate AI safely and effectively into service delivery and decision-making.
Data and Decision Capabilities: A new chapter positioning GBS as the enterprise’s data-driven insight engine.
Global Capability Centers (GCCs): Practical strategies for leveraging global hubs to deliver higher value creation.
Empowered Service Leadership: Frameworks enabling service managers to operate as “CEOs” of their service lines.
Career and Capability Development: Insights on how practitioners can navigate and grow in the rapidly evolving GBS profession.

Each section of the Standards is rooted in real-world success stories from leading global enterprises. It captures what pioneering organizations have learned while “building the plane while flying it,” transforming GBS from a back-office construct into a strategic operating system for enterprise transformation.

A Framework for Transformation

The guide is structured across key dimensions of GBS excellence:

  • Purpose and Strategy
  • Service Delivery Operations
  • Service Management and Governance
  • Enabling Technologies and AI
  • Data and Decision Capabilities
  • Talent and Leadership

Together, these chapters provide a practical roadmap for organizations at every stage of GBS maturity , from those just establishing shared services to global enterprises optimizing for digital, data, and innovation leadership.

Image

Who It's For

A wide range of professionals involved in the strategy, management, and execution of Global Business Services. This includes:

  • Enterprise Leaders and GBS Executives responsible for setting vision, strategy, and delivering measurable value across shared services.
  • Transformation and Change Leaders driving modernization, automation, and AI adoption.
  • Operations and Service Managers striving to elevate efficiency, streamline processes, and enhance service quality and value creation.
  • Technology and Data Leaders building the digital backbone of future-ready GBS enterprises.
  • HR and Talent Managers – managing recruitment, development, and retention of specialized GBS talent.
  • Business Partners and Functional Leaders – seeking to align shared services with broader business goals and customer needs.
  • Advisors and Practitioners who want to apply proven, practitioner-developed frameworks that work in the real world.

Ultimately, the guide is for anyone involved in building, scaling, or optimizing GBS organizations, from early-stage practitioners to seasoned global leaders aiming to align operational excellence with strategic business impact.

A Benchmark for the Industry

As the only open, practitioner-led standards initiative of its kind, APEX GBS has become the global benchmark for excellence in Global Business Services. It provides leaders with the models and language they need to elevate GBS from cost efficiency to strategic enterprise transformation.

Version 2 of the APEX GBS Standards is now available in print on Amazon.

Visit The GBS Standards Website To Find Out More

Visit Website
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.