Part III – Shared Services vs. Outsourcing: A Roundtable Discussion

Shared services centers and outsourcing are both hot with today’s businesses looking to cut costs and increase efficiencies as much as possible. What are the differences between the two models? This is Part III of a three-part roundtable discussion on important perspectives on these popular business models. Part III roundtable participants are Krist Davood, Group CIO of Schiavello; Joseph Soalheira, Advisory Board Member of the Shared Services & Outsourcing Network (SSON) global community; Asheesh Mehra, Head of Sales, Infosys BPO Asia Pacific; and Peter Barta, CEO of Everest Group Asia Pacific. All four are among many industry experts presenting atRead the rest

Outsourcing Expectations

Taking stock of what I read and heard about outsourcing news and deals recently, it’s evident that many people are predisposed to opinions and expectations about outsourcing. People are either inclined toward, prejudiced against, enthusiastic, unwilling, wedded to, or averse to outsourcing. Several comments caught my attention.

A little bit of tongue in cheek –

Of course, if outsourcing were anything close to a security silver bullet, we’d all be working for IBM.

Diving into the issues –

Fujitsu is bringing the role of Officer of Continuous Improvement to an Enterprise near you. Forget the clipboard

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Leadership and Managing through Outsourcing – Interview of Salil Godika, Chief Strategy Officer, MindTree

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

The CFO’s a Go

Here’s a multiple-choice question for you: Is outsourcing the CFO position likely to be (a) innocuous, (b) momentous, or (c) hazardous? Before you deem the question as ridiculous, consider this “Outsourcing the CFO” article in The Moscow Times.

Although the article discusses the outsourcing strategy within the context of encountering difficulty in attracting/hiring an experienced CFO, the strategy could also work in situations where the buyer of outsourced finance and accounting processes also folds the CFO position into the scope of services delivered by the outsourcing provider – and the CFO is on the outsourcer’s payroll.

What benefits would the… Read the rest

What If?

I read a press release the other day about the Chicago area recently launching a public awareness campaign regarding how its 14 museums and zoos contribute to the city and to the state of Illinois. The headline alone caught my attention, as I assumed residents don’t need to be made aware of the benefits of having Picassos, giraffes, planetariums, and dinosaur bones in their midst. Fun, education, culture, even inspiration came to mind as clear benefits.

But in reading further, I learned the zoos and museums also result in more than 26,000 jobs, tax revenue, and about $1 billion annually… Read the rest

Do You Really Trust Your Outsourcing Partner?

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

Getting Rid of Offshoring

I know what you’re thinking: That the title of today’s blog post must be a trick since Outsourcing Buzz Blog is presumably a strong advocate for all things outsourcing. You’d be only partly correct. If I could change things, I’d get rid of the term “offshoring.” The term is a lightning rod for do-or-die turf and political struggles, and it no longer embodies what it really is – if it ever did.

Years ago, when companies first began sending their outsourced IT and business processes to India, outsourcing made such big splashes with the stories of cost-savings possible through labor… Read the rest

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