Perhaps one of the most critical aspects of the software development lifecycle is software testing. Software testing serves myriad purposes and if done right, and done proactively, it can save a company time, money and headaches. It can help companies achieve deployment readiness on time, on budget and with fewer bumps along the way. This [...]
Organizations outsourcing their procurement of such items as direct mail, packaging, point-of-sale materials, statements, and marketing collateral are enjoying 15-40% savings in their print spend. How is an outsourcer able to achieve this outcome for its clients? This paper discusses the factors that govern pricing in the print industry and examines these factors by comparing [...]
Documents are vital assets of an organization, yet many organizations do not conduct assessments to analyze, streamline, and optimize their document processes. Managing document workflow often results in hidden costs and impediments to productivity. This white paper discusses Document Process Management (DPM), an outsourcing strategy that enables organizations to reduce costs, increase productivity, management document [...]
Ness Technologies and CIO Custom Research Group conducted a market pulse study on business intelligence (BI) in Oct./Nov. 2009. The study revealed how the 142 qualified respondents are using BI solutions in their organizations. Among the findings, the study shows plans and budgets allocated for implementing BI during 2010, drivers for BI adoption, and significant [...]
Only a very small number of companies achieve elite status where their sourcing and procurement organization deliver the best possible performance – measured in total cost of ownership (TCO), working capital or availability of materials. Read how you can extract maximum value from virtually every aspect of the source-to-pay (S2P) process to join this group [...]
This paper is the first in a four-part series on optimizing infrastructure through desktop virtualization. It focuses on how to maximize IT services despite shrinking budgets, increase business agility despite aging infrastructure, improve workforce effectiveness, and increase the ability to respond to change. The paper includes an explanation of how virtualization technology works and presents [...]
Today’s U.S. buyers of outsourcing services have a greater selection of potential suppliers to consider because of the increasing numbers of domestic outsourcers and new entrants to the market for niche services. This paper highlights the risks, hidden costs, communication challenges, security concerns, and governance issues that buyers generally encounter when working with an offshore [...]
Both phased and big-bang approaches to the outsourcing transition phase have advantages and pitfalls. This fourth paper in Outsourcing Center’s Best Practices Series, based on studies in the Outsourcing Excellence Awards program, discusses key challenges, lessons learned, and best practices for reducing risks in the transition or migration phase.
Companies are placing more focus on ensuring software products deliver real impact to business needs and also growth to the business, observes Mohammed Haque, Genpact’s Vice President and Head, Enterprise Solutions Service practice. It’s more than just acquiring software for operations; the focus is now on getting the most value out of software assets and [...]
Transparent pricing, highly standardized processes, vertical solutions. Companies will select service providers that deliver the best quality and value-add, not just the best price. “Increased adoption of standardized solutions in outcomes-based models will drive outsourcing to become more utility based,” says Don Schulman, General Manager, Finance and Administration at IBM. “And that becomes where the [...]
Among the various changes that will impact outsourcing over the next five years, Don Schulman, General Manager of Finance and Administration at IBM, says the first will be a focus on outcomes-based pricing models. “Focusing on clients’ end-to-end processes, the discussion moves to outcomes pretty fast when considering the advantage of an outsourcer doing a [...]
Thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (the economic stimulus package for the U.S. economy), healthcare reform, and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), the next five years will see a dramatic increase in outsourcing in the healthcare industry. But there are significant challenges for decision [...]
“We will see a dramatic change in security becoming a prevalent component of outsourcing contracts over the next five years,” says Jim Motes, Chief Information Security Officer for Dell Perot Systems. As virtualized services in cloud and utility computing technologies become more ubiquitous, they will drive an even deeper focus on security. A virtualized environment [...]
Technology enables business change, but it doesn’t drive it. Jim Stikeleather, Chief Technology Officer at Dell Perot Systems, says change doesn’t happen unless there is an economic value. And that’s why cloud computing will make such a huge impact on outsourced services. It changes companies’ ability to consume IT. “This will create a very different [...]
Getting from A to Z (from the current state of outsourcing relationships to the future state of how relationships will need to work in order to bring about the outcomes that buyers demand) is not an easy path, and some providers will fall away during that journey. In addition, cloud computing changes the entire picture. [...]
This year we didn’t need a top 10 list of important past events and future predictions. The worst recession anyone still working can remember and its impact is our list. Our experts shared their sage assessments. Here’s what they think: Top Events of 2009: ACS: The global recession – pure and simple. The current downturn [...]
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