Deciding What to Outsource
Dr. Wendell Jones
Outsourcing relationships have a better chance for success if they have an internal champion who believes in the cause. Find out what you need to know.
Research & Insight
Business Challenge
An ASP Plays Doctor with Database Health
Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer
dbDoctor has reengineered the database monitoring process for Oracle and Sun Microsystems systems. ‘Databases touch each and every facet of your business. When they go down, all hell breaks loose and losses immediately start to accumulate,’ says Michael Misheff, vice president, sales and marketing, for dbDoctor.
Prepared to Answer
Chris Pryer, Business Writer
Customer service is a term that rolls easily off the tongue of almost every corporate mogul you hear interviewed or quoted these days. They talk about the fierce competition they face in their chosen industry and that the distinguishing factor that separates the leaders in their field from the also-rans is how they service their customers after the sale. In the remote environment of eCommerce, it can be particularly difficult to maintain a satisfying relationship between the buyer and seller, whether it’s B2C or B2B. This has spawned a whole new generation of companies that specialize in helping other companies manage interaction with their customers over the Internet. Ziptone is such a company.
What Happened to LeapSource?
Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer
What Happened to LeapSource? – With $65 million in its checkbook, LeapSource opened it doors in September, 1999. The pure play business process outsourcing (BPO) provider closed those doors in March, 2001.\x0d\x0aWhat happened? And what does it mean for BPO outsourcing?
Outsourcing:
Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer
Outsourcing providers offer a richer and more varied career path than companies whose employees work in departments that support the core business. When EDS completes an outsourcing contract, it manages the IT department of the buyer’s firm.
Risky Business
Chris Pryer, Business Writer
The issue of how liability is addressed in an outsourcing agreement is very real. The ultimate goal of any outsourcing arrangement is mutual satisfaction. The outsourcing entity hopes to acquire a higher level of performance in a particular aspect of its business that was not attainable in the past and be cost effective while doing so. The outsourcer leverages its expertise and economies of scale in the hopes of meeting the client’s expectationss and making a profit in the process. But it doesn’t always work out that way.
Breaking News: Outsourcing Gets Great Press in the Newspaper Industry
Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer
Reducing cycle time is a powerful business strategy. Here are two examples from the newspaper industry that demonstrate how outsourcing was the only way these companies could take advantage of a great opportunity.
HR Moves to Self-Serve
Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer
SynHRgy HR Technologies, an HR outsourcing vendor in Houston, Texas, monitored the usage of its 500,000 participants last fall. Sixty-five percent of the enrollees used the Web or its interactive voice response (IVR) system in lieu of talking to a live representative, reports Kraig Koester, Midwest regional director for SynHRgy. He points out the outsourcing vendor’s 35 clients range from high tech companies who couldn’t live without their Palm Pilots to unionized heavy industry whose employees work with their hands not computers.
Five Tips for Vendors
George Atis, Chairman, Outsourcing and Technology practice groups, McMillan Binch LLP
George Atis provides some pointers for vendors that should go a long way towards impressing buyers and expediting the closure of a deal.
The Big Picture
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
Solutions for Public and Private eMarketplaces “Major multinational companies will buy software solutions,” says James Hatcher, vice president of business development for ECNet. “But when you go to the supplier base, only 10 percent of them will buy software. So what do you do with the rest of the guys? An eMarketplace needs to scale …