SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The three leading professional associations for the services and support industry—AFSMI, SSPA, and TPSA—today announced that they have merged to form a single, global association: TSIA, the Technology Services Industry Association. The announcement was made by TSIA president and CEO J.B. Wood during his keynote presentation at Technology Services World (TSW) Las Vegas, the association’s annual fall conference.

TSIA brings together a rich heritage—spanning more than three decades—of serving the needs of professionals across the full spectrum of technology services disciplines: AFSMI (the Association for Services Management International) since 1975; SSPA (the Service & Support Professionals Association) since 1989; and TPSA (the Technology Professional Services Association) since 2005. Combined, the three associations provide guidance to more than 300 companies in the technology services industry.

“With more than $800 billion in worldwide annual revenues, technology services has become an industry unto itself,” stated Thomas Lah, TSIA’s executive director. “For many companies, technology services have overtaken products as the primary driver of corporate growth and profits. The traditional disciplines of field, professional, support, education, and managed services have grown to become strategic businesses. If ever there was a time that technology services professionals needed one place to go, one voice to speak for them, one source of reliable data, that time is now.”

TSIA will initially differentiate the core service disciplines of field services, professional services, and support services in the research and content delivered and the structure of programming and events for its members. TSIA will also, beginning in 2010, explore topics related to services discipline convergence and introduce research around additional service disciplines.

“As an active member of all three former associations, we’re very excited to have a single place for the whole industry to come together,” said Bill Steenburgh, senior vice president, Xerox Services. “Services are a strategic and growing part of Xerox’s portfolio, and our participation in TSIA provides significant value and thought leadership.”

About TSIA

The Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA) is the technology services industry’s largest and most vibrant association, encompassing more than 50,000 members from 300 companies in 80 countries. Our ranks include services executives, managers, and professionals from around the globe. www.tsia.com.