Two weeks ago Oracle agreed to buy Taleo, a maker of online human resources software. Last October the company purchased RightNow Technologies, a maker of Web-based customer services software for $1.43 billion.
That’s two cloud-based companies. What does this mean for the outsourcing market?
I say the big ERP and database companies finally have to admit the cloud is here to stay. In the past Oracle’s CEO, Lawrence Ellison, has publicly stated cloud would not be a profitable IT arena, so the company has stayed away from not only cloud solutions but virtualization as well. This is inherently strange since… Read the rest
It is a Formula One Grand Prix. Crew members are crunching data from the sensors attached to the car. In a single season, a team will burn 200,000 liters of fuel in testing to identify 50 slightly different blends of fuel additives. Subject to predictive and simulated models, the crew should be able to give the right blend of power boosting additives to touch the finish line!
Similarly, your banker, insurer, telecom provider or retail store could be tracking your buying behavior to offer you an optimal product/service mix. With Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs and other social media being tracked,… Read the rest
Wave 5 of the technology revolution is upon us. (Preceded, of course, by mainframes, client/server, desktops and then the Internet.) Cloud computing is a key component of this new wave.
Contracts, of course, form the bedrock of beautiful outsourcing relationships. How do you contract for cloud services? Are cloud contracts different from contracting any IT service?
In his book “Cloud Sourcing the Corporation,” Ben Trowbridge outlines a list of concerns. He points out that many of the current cloud providers have business-to-consumer roots. “Their current contracting practices place much emphasis on the provider and not enough on the corporate customer,”… Read the rest
Ask a handful of experts today, “What is Cloud Computing?” and you will likely elicit a wide and varied range of responses and definitions. For a provider, simplifying their explanation of cloud would cause them to lose a competitive advantage over others in the industry. Making a decision regarding the best option for cloud computing is a complex and perplexing decision due to a number of reasons.
Selecting a cloud computing provider can be a challenging adventure. You must decide why to engage your operations using this type of service, select the business processes and applications to be delivered in the… Read the rest
As the outsourcing service provider landscape continues to shift through mergers and acquisitions, how can buyers construct their contracts to protect what they envision in the relationship despite a change in provider ownership? I spoke with two attorneys, James Nelson and William Russell in the New York office of Venable LLP, who frequently counsel clients on mergers and acquisitions and outsourcing matters, and asked them about insights and best practices to protect the interests of buyers of outsourced services.
Q: Sometimes when a service provider is acquired, some of the service delivery nuances that were in place with the prior… Read the rest
Cloud/BPaaS offerings are gaining a lot of attention in media, analyst, and advisor discussions. For the BPO providers, Business Process as a Service (BPaaS) seems all the more important because this can potentially drive the non-linear revenues combining tools + technologies + services.
It is a potential option but not a panacea to all issues or the only direction the industry will take. We need to make sure that we cut through the hype and stay focused on what works for the customers and build the capabilities around that.
In BPO scenarios, large clients typically approach vendors to outsource processes… Read the rest
It’s a well-known fact that when the interests of parties in an outsourcing arrangement are not aligned – either because the original business assumptions changed over time or because they were never truly aligned in the first place – the deal is not mutually beneficial and one party won’t get the anticipated return on investment. However, most companies don’t understand how to structure and sustain a win-win deal.
Kate Vitasek’s book, Vested Outsourcing, describes the kind of relationship where all parties are truly vested in behaving in a manner that ensures they all look out for… Read the rest
For more than 10 years, it has been my privilege – and my fascination – to interview the world’s leadings service providers and analysts about their predictions as to how outsourcing will change in the coming year.
Years ago, the articles started with an overview of how accurate the prior year’s predictions turned out to be. Except for the growth predictions, the predictions were often not on the mark – except for two years where the industry observers predicted massive change – one due to the beginnings of BPO and the other was the year everyone talked about the impact… Read the rest
Four forces are now making work increasingly dynamic:
- Globalization: Work, of all forms, is migrating to its right location worldwide, allowing companies to leverage expertise anywhere and everywhere it resides.
- The Millennial Mindset: “Digital natives,” both as employees and customers, are creating new social and operating norms for companies, worldwide.
- Transparent Technology: Cloud computing, social networking, broadband, and mobility are enabling new business and technology models that improve operational flexibility and knowledge sharing.
- Virtualization: The virtualization of technology, business processes, and organizational structures is giving rise to the “anytime, anywhere” worker and causing organizations to rethink how they operate
“Fear and uncertainty gripped the city” . . . “Rumors have been swirling” . . . . A great opening line like these just isn’t coming to mind today for this blog. Nevertheless, the importance of the outsourcing news items I’m blogging about shouldn’t be underestimated. Making my pulse list today are outsourcing developments we should all keep on our radar screens.
But then . . . along came IBM. Amidst countless media articles and industry surveys and reports predicting the adoption of outsourced cloud services are many that point to the inherent security risks and complexities that may slow adoption. But… Read the rest
Recent Comments
“Great interview with a top professional! Shared. Mel, alldayPA ”
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