Bad Times, Good Times

"Good and bad times go hand in hand". This is an age old saying.

The current economic meltdown is threatening us all. I heard an analyst express his fears “if an economic downturn can force a country like America to turn toward socialism (pseudo), than it definitely is alarming."

Never before in our lifetimes have we witnessed such a widespread impact across the verticals, globally. Experts believe that the “BRIC” countries are better off even now. But sooner than later we in India have started feeling the jitters hinting that we too are global citizens, connected and not indifferent for sure.

A good friend used to say “Don’t just hope, Believe.” Hearing, discussing and reading the views of the global experts makes me a firm believer, a believer in happier times, growing economies and expanding businesses. These testing times are surely pushing us more and more towards the charismatic future that awaits us all. This meltdown symbolizes the survival of the fittest and gives all an opportunity to tighten the screws and be ready to welcome the good times ahead.

OBAMANIA and the Outsourcing world

Yesterday I witnessed unarguably the most extravagant presidential swearing-in ceremony of our times. Also the most awaited, I believe. No points for guessing, the OBAMANIA has arrived and was very evident with more than 3 million Americans in Washington and over 1.3 Billion television viewers witnessing "the change" that is bound to reshape the world.

I was forced to think if this is the end of the Outsourcing era? The era that has lasted more than a quarter of a century! Not really, my mind suggests. Outsourcing is no longer just the buzzword, its a phenomenon that has transformed the way companies look at IT and can consider IT as a contributor to the organizational growth story.

Will things change? Surely they will. But the extent is going to be limited and definitely not something that the IT Service companies in India need to worry about.

Outsourcing is no longer about Costs alone and thats the best part. Companies today are looking beyond costs for other benefits like better service levels, governance issues, information security, process optimization and innovation. The list is long and IT companies in India have, to a great extent, transformed their offerings to offer these benefits to their clients.

While exploring your Sourcing Options these benefits are definitely something you as a CIO or IT Director should consider before zeroing down on your Outsourcing vendor. Using a Sourcing Advisory services helps you doing just this.

Beat the SlowDown: CIO Strategies

Slowdown is on our minds and on the minds of all the CIOs and IT Managers. So what can we do to beat the slowdown, to the extent that our IT excels and helps us justify the TCO while adding value to the organization by increasing ROI in real terms?

The 3 simple ways are:
1. Use Offshore Support and Customization for your IT/Apps
2. Use Sourcing Advisory services for effective and value driven outsourcing.
3. Go GREEN with IT

Success Stories: Benefits companies have managed to get using a well defined Sourcing Advisory Process:

- A 200+ store multi-brand retailer achieved a saving of over 40% of the estimated outsourcing costs through well placed processes.
- A global electrical energy industry leader saved over 30% of costs quoted by their incumbent vendor while getting additional value added services.
- One of the largest privately owned departmental store business in the USA saved over 40% from vendor quoted costs by well defined processes.

Not sure how and where to start. Contact me to discuss how your IT Costs can reduce substantially and IT can become a value add to your organization's fight to the global meltdown.