Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
Buyers must face decisions around new risks and opportunities in outsourced IT solutions. Charlie Bess, HP Fellow, HP Enterprise Services, says the outsourcing industry is facing “a different kind of IT and support environment than what we had just a few short years ago.” Here’s how he describes this new environment: More sensors deployed in …
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
For the most part, industry experts say the midmarket is poised for significant growth in outsourcing during the next five years. However, some point out that the nature of midsized companies may hinder growth. Outsourcing Center interviewed providers and advisors serving the midmarket regarding upcoming changes in this market and the risks and challenges that …
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
Outsourcing HR went through a shake-out over the past two years due to the continual issues around scope and other challenges that buyers and service providers encountered over the past decade. The dust has settled from the revamping efforts, but there are new challenges on the horizon. Here’s what your company needs to know for …
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
Which industries will experience growth in outsourcing in the next few years, and what risks will buyers of those services face? Are there business processes or functions that will begin turning to outsourcing in the next two to five years? What value opportunities and risks will they bring? In what geographic regions will companies begin …
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
As GE’s Jack Welch states, mistakes can often be as good a teacher as success. In studying outsourcing relationships through Outsourcing Center’s annual Outsourcing Excellence Awards program since 1996, Outsourcing Center has aggregated and analyzed the lessons learned – mistakes and successes – by hundreds of buyers and providers of outsourcing services. These lessons learned …
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
An outsourcing provider’s quality of services and the achievement of the agreed-upon mutually beneficial objectives are essential to success. But there are additional actions that service providers and buyers can take to boost the return on investment and increase the life expectancy of their relationships, that is, strengthen outsourcing relationships. To identify these relationship-strengthening actions, …
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
A service level agreement (SLA) plays two important roles in an outsourcing arrangement. It sets the stage for the service provider’s accountability, and it is the major factor in determining the price of the service. The buyer of outsourced services can achieve a comfort level that it’s getting what it pays for if it regularly …
Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer
Industry media, especially over the past two years, often points out that a significantly high number of outsourcing arrangements do not deliver the promised cost savings due to “hidden” costs associated with managing the relationship. This is especially true, the reports state, in outsourcing relationships with an offshore delivery component, where administrative costs increase due …
Linda Tuck Chapman, President, ONTALA Performance Solutions Ltd.
The biggest challenge with service provider governance is designing a good program that minimizes the increased workload of already-stretched resources. Linda Tuck Chapman shares how to design and deploy a governance program that focuses on service provider performance and risk management.
Outsourcing Center, Beth Ellyn Rosenthal, Senior Writer
Flexibility started early. This was a ground-breaking contract in 1999. With no paradigm, it didn’t take long for the two to realize they made a mistake in scope. Flexibility allowed a 180-degree term. Eleven years later the relationship is going strong, thanks to its flexibility.
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