Henry Kissinger said that the absence of alternatives clears the mind marvelously. That has been true in outsourcing in recent years. It was marvelously clear that companies could reduce their costs through outsourcing to offshore locations with low-cost labor, especially in India. But now there’s a viable alternative: companies can outsource their work to low-cost nearshore locations.
The cost, time zone, and other advantages from outsourcing to a country that is a “neighbor” and has the same culture are significant. Western European companies have successfully nearshored their work to Eastern European locations for quite a while, and China is a… Read the rest
A friend of mine recently told me of the change that technology has made in her marriage. Her husband is deaf. For more than 50 years, he’s heard nothing but the very loudest noises and has to depend on reading lips to follow conversations. He called her one day at work and exclaimed, “Silverware makes noise! And so do the keys on the computer keyboard!”
With new technology in a hearing device, he now can hear sounds that he didn’t even know existed. He suddenly realized why his wife always griped at him to not make so much noise when… Read the rest
MindTree was ranked among the fastest-growing technologies companies on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific 2009, recognizing its “customer success through innovation solutions and happy people.” In addition, MindTree’s Executive Chairman and co-founder, Ashok Soota, received the Gold Peacock Award for Technology Leadership from the Institute of Directors. This interview of Salil Godika, MindTree’s Chief Strategy Officer, presents insights on aspects of innovation, leadership, and change management in managing an outsourcing relationship.
In interviewing buyers of outsourcing services, I have spoken with many who claim that their service provider did not achieve the level of innovation the buyer anticipated.… Read the rest
I’ve blogged before about some of the lessons learned from mistakes made in outsourcing relationships that caused the parties to achieve less value than they anticipated. But as another blogger commented, last week, why not also learn from those who got it right, those who found keys to success. That’s definitely the most valuable approach. So this blog presents a perspective shared by those who got it right.
When I’ve asked hundreds of outsourcing buyers over the past decade to share a characteristic that is key to keeping their interests aligned over the long term, one of the… Read the rest
There’s a growing recognition that an outsourcing initiative is a journey. Executives of some of the world’s leading companies have said that to me when I interviewed them about the successes and challenges in their outsourcing arrangements.
A question I’ve asked when interviewing literally hundreds of outsourcing execs is what they would do differently the second time around if they had an opportunity to start over (from the initial negotiation phase).
It’s hard to believe, but a few (very few) say they wouldn’t do anything differently and that everything went smoothly and according to plan. Many reply that they actually… Read the rest
I’m part of a minority group. Despite the media flooding us with terrible tales and significant studies about outsourcing failures, I focus on the fact that the “pie” of the outsourcing market has a very large piece that represents highly successful relationships.
However, any relationship, whether personal or business, is bound to encounter disappointments. In my interviews of hundreds of buyers and suppliers of outsourcing services, I’ve asked about those disappointments. One that stands out to me is occurring more frequently these days as companies take on more globalization efforts.
Here’s a real-world example. In the initial contract, the buyer… Read the rest
Saturday night, June 6, 2009. It was the long-awaited and much-hyped George Strait concert at the grand opening of the Cowboys Stadium, the massive piece of architecture that is the new home for football’s famed Dallas Cowboys. More than 60,000 fans were expected to attend, and for months before the concert, Internet sites offered maps with the best routes to get to and from the stadium from any Dallas/Fort Worth Zip Codes.
The restaurants, clubs and other businesses in the Arlington, Texas, entertainment district where the stadium stands tall had extra staff on hand, ready for the anticipated… Read the rest
Trust is something that really trips people up in outsourcing relationships. In my talks with hundreds of executives involved in outsourcing over the last decade, I’m intrigued by the fact that when I ask executives about the trust level in their relationship, some can’t determine if trust is there, some say they thought trust was there but then something happened that indicated otherwise, and most who say trust is key to their success can’t describe how to build or sustain it.
Outsourcing has an inherent challenge that makes trust become crucial to achieving successful outcomes. We’ve developed all sorts of… Read the rest
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