Archive for the 'Outsourcing Research / Trends' Category
by: Ronald Escanlar
Friday, September 02, 2011 |
Comments (0)
Category:
Outsourcing Research / Trends
Majority of efficient IT Help Desks are measured by their high basic performance metrics, which cover high resolution rates and fast average handle times (AHTs). However, as outsourcing consultancy firm TPI points out, these basic metrics only measure how quickly agents can manage contacts – they do not reflect how operations can be made more efficient and effective.
TPI says in its report that problems may actually get unresolved in the efforts of agents to score high metrics rates. The consultancy firm cites the example of multiple contacts about a relatively easy problem, which agents resolve by themselves. Instead of elevating the problem to the production team, the agents opt to increase their resolution rates.
Issues are supposed to be resolved and eliminated, instead of being managed with short-term solutions. A smarter Help Desk is integrated with other groups in the IT organization for proper problem analysis and resolution. TPI suggests five strategies that top Help Desks use in improving overall operations:
Knowledge Management Incentives. Targets for agents should be made, with a focus on publishing a certain number of articles per period. This assumes that the publication process filters good writing from bad writing.
Demand Management Incentives. The Help Desk team should get rewarded in reducing the volume of contacts for specific problems.
Incident Management Integration. Reward agents who connect incidents to existing problems. A tool should be in place to enable an agent to quickly report the incident and evaluate it as a consequence of a known issue. This is considered as a critical ITIL asset.
Problem Management Integration. Agents who can characterize a problem, and thus, assist in resolving it should also be rewarded. A problem can become critical especially if it involves a database, yet with a forward-looking agent, the problem can be resolved immediately.
ITIL Process Integration. ITIL, formerly known as IT Infrastructure Library, is a set of best-practice measures for the IT industry. TPI says interconnecting your ITIL processes will highlight the top incident types, record the progress in resolving the incidents, and reduce contacts related to the incident type.
With a more intelligent Help Desk, gains in operational efficiency are made and customers receive better services and products.
by: Ronald Escanlar
Friday, September 23, 2011 |
Comments (0)
Category:
Outsourcing Research / Trends
Small companies generally do not have the resources to undertake massive volume orders or major shifts in technological infrastructure. Outsourcing, whether offshore or nearshore, serves as a strategic tool for small companies to maintain profitability and to ensure efficient customer service.
In any business operation, IT infrastructure is an important aspect. Unfortunately, small companies have limited budgets in hiring IT personnel or purchasing IT equipment. Outsourcing enables small companies to hire world-class IT personnel or to use virtual IT equipment at low cost.
However, compared to large, multinational companies, small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) generally do not have the skill and know-how in managing outsourcing service providers. Kevin Casey of InformationWeek.com has interviewed TeamLogic IT’s vice president for information technology, Vince Plaza, for an insight into how SMBs can fully take advantage of IT outsourcing.
Do not hesitate to ask questions. Asking questions creates an atmosphere of transparency and accountability. A transparent working relationship ensures that all issues are attended to immediately. At the same time, any possible challenges can be foreseen and resolved. A typical question that may be asked in an outsourced IT relationship may be related to general details such as the software and hardware used by the service provider. Software may refer to the applications and technologies employed to deliver the services – it may even help to understand the different levels of service that an outsourcing agreement covers.
Outline a clear job description for the outsourcing service provider. Not all SMBs have their own IT departments. However, tension may occur in an outsourcing relationship that involves two IT managers – the in-house IT executive and the outsourced IT staff. A clearly outlined role and responsibility for the outsourced IT provider helps to reduce this tension. Plaza said an approach like “call on us when you need us” will place the outsourcing service provider in a supporting role.
Regular meetings ensure that the outsourcing relationship is proactive, instead of being reactive. Internal company meetings are done regularly to address issues and avoid problems – why not do the same with an outsourcing service provider? A proactive outsourcing relationship means that problems are anticipated and avoided, resulting to less downtimes and more operational hours.
Do not sacrifice security. Being an SMB does not equate to having less secure IT resources. Awareness of data security is very important, especially for SMBs that capitalize on a specific product or service. Security policies and procedures that do not require additional equipment and staff can be developed and used.
Be fast in solving problems. Even if an outsourcing relationship is proactive in dealing with challenges, inevitably a problem arises. How many times have you dealt with a project that did not proceed as planned? Speed is critical in solving problems, especially problems that may hamper service delivery.
by: Sarah Joson
Tuesday, December 27, 2011 |
Comments (0)
Category:
Outsourcing Research / Trends
Now that we are treading the last days of 2011, the year when the IT outsourcing industry saw smaller deals, customers were doubtful of the process, and cloud computing was talked about a lot, it is believed that 2011 developments might resonate throughout 2012. However, economic issues will still take its toll on the entire sector.
At CIO.com, Stephanie Overby listed down 12 IT outsourcing trends that may be seen next year, according to industry experts:
1) International firms are set to look for other locations besides India.
Phil Fersht, founder of outsourcing analyst firm HfS Research, said India will see slower growth. Cost efficiency will no longer be the main reason international companies outsource offshore. They will now consider expanding their skills and knowledge in back-support and other processes by tapping into countries like Brazil, Malaysia, Mexico, South Africa, Romania, and Bulgaria.
2) Expect sterner IT security.
Mark Ruckman, outsourcing consultant at Sanda Partners, predicts “2012 will be the year of security”. He believes that sooner or later, one of the numerous IT service providers worldwide will experience an embarrassing security breach, which is why he thinks outsourcing firms will definitely find better ways to protect their client’s data.
3) Application development will likely be sourced from the US.
Financial service firms have long sourced fragments of their codes from offshore providers, but will realize that it is actually more affordable to do so by establishing captive centers or acquiring the services of third party providers in secondary US cities.
4) IT outsourcers will try different things.
Everest Group believes IT service providers, specifically the ones offshore, will find new and innovative ways to counter the pressure brought about by pricing issues to reinforce growth and profitability.
5) Failure to put backsourcing words into action.
Steve Martin from Pace Harmon predicts companies that are fed up with procuring IT services offshore will make impulsive decisions to the point of scheming a plan to bring back work in-house, only to realize that it’s too much for them.
6) IT Outsourcing clients might axe account managers.
Phil Fersht of HfS Research believes account managers of IT service providers should not focus on sales to the point that the core requirements are brushed aside. There is a need for account managers to think about not just the revenues but building relationships as well.
7) Opportunities in Infrastructure building.
Offshore IT providers are set to expand their service offerings by trying their hand at infrastructure building. They have actually been working on developing the process and honing it to move past application development and maintenance work.
8) It’s time for small players to shine.
Outsourcing providers will try to bank on smaller enterprises as they have exhausted their leads from the Fortune 1000 pool.
9) IT vendors will remain fixated on labor arbitrage.
Outsourcing buyers will be looking for more factors other than low costs before signing deals. Service providers, on the other hand, will still focus on keeping costs low.
10) The cloud will be more defined.
The hype around the cloud will definitely mellow down as IT providers shift their focus on improving the service by calculating the risks and providing the service in areas where clients need it most. Stricter regulations for the cloud will also be implemented by 2012.
11) Outsourcing buyers will be on guard for another recession.
The decisions for improvements and expansions by outsourcing buyers will most likely be put off until they are confident enough in the economic situation. Most of them will see large contracts as a business solution that entails a lot of risks, said Everest Group, and added that there may be slow activity during the first half of 2012. However, there’s a great chance that it’ll gain stride in the following months.
12) 2012 will be made up of M&A combos.
Fersht of Hfs Research said providers will avoid large mergers due to scarcity of the business model that they actually need and want. One example is a flexible structure that can accommodate expansions and reductions.
In the US, Fersht sees large providers that have merged are making use of cloud-based tools. According to Ruckman, there’s also a possibility that three mid-sized companies will merge and make up a large IT service provider.
by: Carlo Abadilla
Monday, December 07, 2009 |
Comments (0)
Category:
Outsourcing Research / Trends
As more and more people turn to social networking sites and other online communications tools, the concept of project management is fast evolving with it. From a business perspective, the value proposition of free utilities is enormous, and companies are realizing that having an online presence is not merely a marketing tool but also an effective way of managing your relationships.
This trend is best illustrated by the outsourcing process. As companies find that it is cheaper and more cost effective to outsource non-core functions, new media tools are stepping up to fill that last mental barrier keeping companies from fully embracing an outsourcing strategy for growth: the absence of tactile, face to face communications. Now, with Twitter, Facebook, Skype, and Base Camp, collaborators from all over the world can converge on one project and do it more efficiently than shuttling between airports or burning the phone lines.
The beauty of the emergence of new media is that it gives companies who outsource non core functions control over how a project proceeds; in fact, it can be argued that new media gives people the ability to affect changes mid stream and in real time, a luxury that was absent a mere decade ago. For outsourcing companies, it also gives them access to a whole new set of potential customers, companies that have seen the wisdom of maintaining an online presence themselves.
Having said this, the increased reliance on new media to facilitate outsourced operations means companies and individuals must now forge and maintain relationships in the digital world. With the increased use of social networks, this 'virtual life' can also be fully harnessed for business purposes as catch basins for increased interaction between team members. With these new tools, no longer will a manager in the US constantly worry about not getting through to his foreign outsourced partner; new media has made communications a mere mouse click away, and this bodes well for the outsourcing industry because it gives potential customers a new comfort level when dealing with people they have never personally met.
by: Geoanna Corneby
Friday, October 29, 2010 |
Comments (0)
Category:
Outsourcing Research / Trends
Along with the advent of BPO came the popularity of Finance and Accounting (F&A) Outsourcing. This is usually the first choice of offshore service for people seeking to reduce cost in back office functions. However, word on the street is that most business owners who have outsourced F&A tasks are not pleased with the services they have received. Alsbridge Inc. argues against this as they foresee trends that will increase F&A Outsourcing activity.
Increasing penetration. F&A Outsourcing has not reached all industries and there are a lot of avenues where it can still prove to be useful. Untapped fields like retail and investment banks and SMEs have yet to be included in the targeted market segments of outsourcing providers.
Up the value chain. Finance activities that can be outsourced are becoming more and more complex. Gone are the days when only simple bookkeeping and data entry tasks can be accommodated. Strategic audits, reports, and analysis are now being outsourced and the list of services under F&A Outsourcing is continuously growing.
Harsher competition. There is an increasing number of high quality service providers that choose to specialize in F&A Outsourcing. New entrants in India are changing the landscape and a lot of companies follow suit in employing innovation in their service offerings. Alsbridge predicts alliances to be formed as the industry reaches maturity.
Offshore acceleration. The industry has been totally redefined by outsourcing. It has been found out that 60% of global players outsource to India. It is safe to assume that in today’s business environment, it is the norm to outsource finance and accounting functions.
Buy-side sophistication. A big percentage of firms that outsource finance and accounting activities are on to their second F&A deal. This implies that they are more knowledgeable about the market and they have preferences when it comes to service delivery models. A more informed market in a very competitive landscape increases the bargaining power of consumers, further resulting to lowering prices. Flow of deals in finance and accounting outsourcing is generally slow, except for some providers who take advantage of the situation and offer below market rates to attract revenue growth.
More F&A captive sales. More and more companies choose to establish an entire F&A team offshore. Divestments, however, are becoming more common as companies take advantage of the flexibility offered by outsourcing.
SAAS. Software-as-a-Service and cloud-based solutions are gaining influence in the industry. Software programs for finance and accounting used to be unaffected by technological advancement. This is currently changing because a number of suppliers offer standardized platforms for F&A services.
It is clear that the face of Finance and Accounting Outsourcing is developing to a more competitive segment. These trends show that the industry has not become stagnant and a lot of opportunities will keep growth and advancement at a steady pace.
