The PMO: Worldwide ... and Global, Too

Just got done crunching some stats on the entries to the PMO of the Year Award competition, and thought I'd share them with our readers. Of the 40 PMOS (a new record number of applicants) in the running this year, 12 are outside the United States ... and 10 of those are outside North America. While we have had a small number of applicants from across the globe in the past (one of the 2009 finalists was from Australia), over 25% was a surprise. That tells us that companies from New Zealand to Brazil are turning to the PMO to resolve organizational challenges.

At the same time, the applicants are "global" in the sense that they come from every imaginable field of endeavor, from state and local governments, to nonprofit healthcare concerns, to pharmaceuticals, telecoms, food distributors and computer manufacturing giants. The selection of IT PMOs was expected; but the array of new industries, compared to previous years, was unexpected.

Finally, the percentage of the applicants who manage an enterprise-level PMO has also gone up - for the first time, they outnumber the divisional PMOs (by 22 to 18). And, some of the divisional PMOs are not IT, but other functions: professional services for example.

It's a shame that we will only be able to share the stories of the winner and three finalists (as of August 1, after the judges have finished their deliberations), because all the applications make fascinating reading. Hmmm ... that gives me an idea for a book ...