Media Coverage
 Managing the Changing ROI of Offshore Outsourcing
As the attrition rates and unit labor costs rise in many locations, the ROI from captive offshore outsourcing initiatives will increasingly undergo scrutiny in 2005. Increased costs and attrition have already prompted some interesting moves among the best-practice firms like GE, AON and American Express. What can the rest of us learn from their actions?
 Indian offshoring giants walks a tightrope
By boosting profile, Tata, one of India's leading providers of temporary labor and offshoring services to U.S. high-tech companies, raises risk of a backlash.
 Five Reasons Why Offshore Outsourcing Projects Fail
Although the topic of outsourcing continues to grab headlines, the unspoken corporate code of silence on offshore outsourcing projects still holds relatively steady whether companies experience success or failure. A few companies, however, have stepped forward to publicly offer complete versions of their offshore outsourcing experiences. Their experiences reveal, as many have been quick to say all along, that offshore outsourcing sometimes does more harm than good. Below we describe the top five reasons why offshore outsourcing projects fail.
 The Next Trend: Offshore Product Engineering
Software engineers who build high-end products may believe that their jobs are safe from offshoring. That belief is mistaken.
Communicating An Offshore Strategy To Employees
It’s time corporations considered managing the emotional side of offshore outsourcing instead of just the financial side. The success of offshore projects depends heavily on the ability of companies to communicate with their employees and to encourage them to think differently about their jobs and overall corporate performance.
Jobs that stay here -- but not for Americans
Not all the local jobs disappear when an Indian firm takes a software project to Bangalore. As many as 30 percent in a typical offshoring contract stay onshore, located right on the premises of U.S. technology companies.
Offshore Outsourcing: Will Your Job Disappear in 2004?
Offshore outsourcing is everywhere—boardrooms, newspapers, magazines, cable news, even chat groups. The noise quotient around offshore outsourcing is reaching epic proportions. This article outlines what's taking place in offshore outsourcing and its potential impact on your job.
Emerging Business Models in Offshore Outsourcing
Offshore outsourcing has surfaced as both a strategic and tactical method of meeting new business demands. Similar to most business ventures, the challenge of offshore outsourcing lies not in envisioning it but in executing it.
The Business Side of Web Services
Kalakota and Robinson explain why web services technology is only one part of building comprehensive self-service portals. They elaborate on the growing practice of architecting business processes outside-in.
 CIO Radio
Dr. Kalakota talks about how to be successful with Web services and his new book, Services Blueprint: Roadmap for Execution.
Value Migration: From Enterprise Applications to Service Platforms
Most companies have implemented enterprise applications such as CRM and ERP. The best-practice companies are moving beyond enterprise applications into service platforms. This article illustrates why this trend is occurring.
 Why Wal-Mart's Wal-Mart (And You're Not)
To successfully execute technology-enabled services across the
organization, you need one simple word: focus.
The Next Generation of Portals
Ravi Kalakota and Marcia Robinson explain why the current fragmented approach to web portals is flawed and why enterprise portals built on service platforms are needed to deliver better ROI.
 M-Business: Moving from Strategy to Vision
Mobile business holds tremendous potential for improving and streamlining business transactions. However, as is always the case with corporate change initiatives related to technology, moving successfully from a vision of mobile's possibilities to a concrete strategy for creating value requires considerable analysis, planning, and discipline.
From e-Business to Services: Why and Why Now?
There is a distinct movement in the business world from e-business to services. Learn about the trends causing this movement and how to use services digitization and services blueprints to help your company get ahead.
 M-Business: From Hype to Reality
The vision of using mobile devices to conduct real business is becoming a reality in many industries. So what must organizations consider before implementing m-business and what are the opportunities when they do?
 The Economics of DSL Deregulation
The DSL market exhibits a three-way competition, cooperation, and collusion relationship. Scores of competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) compete with incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) for end-users. Both depend on the phone infrastructures of the local phone companies or the Baby Bells for offering their service. However, the ILECs, unlike the CLECs, are affiliated to the Baby Bells.
 E-business 2.0: Looking over the New Horizon
A discussion about the characteristics of rising leaders in today's new business environment. In addition, this paper explores several business models that have emerged over the past few years along with the developing trends for the future.
Q&A with E-business Experts Marcia Robinson and Ravi Kalakota
E-business experts Marcia Robinson and Ravi Kalakota answer InformIT members' questions.
Joined at the Bit: The Emergence of the E-Business Community
The question is not whether e-business communities (EBC) are upon us, but how to develop strategies that capitalize on this new formation. EBCs are transforming the rules of competition, inventing new value propositions, and mobilizing people and resources to unprecedented levels of performance. Firms must learn to co-evolve with partners to create favorable conditions for all players. The new game is about leading a community for mutually beneficial longterm relationships with cosuppliers and customers.
 Process Variation as a Determinant of Bank Performance: Evidence from the Retail Banking Study
This paper explores the relation between retail banks’ branch-based processes and financial performance. There are 11 processes included in this study, which represent the bulk of the activities performed in a typical retail branch (e.g., opening checking accounts).
 Next Generation B2B Solutions
The e-procurement revolution has only begun and already we’re seeing evolution within the revolution. First came buy-side solutions that automated manual transactions and cut costs accordingly. Then came the digital marketplaces where multiple buyers and sellers could do business without heavy implementation fees. Now, next-generation solutions are emerging that not only deliver the sale but also manage the entire transaction—from search and select to settlement and accounting.
E-Business 2.0 Emerging Business Models
In this article, e-commerce experts Ravi Kalakota and Marcia Robinson highlight several emerging e-business models, including Net markets, collaborative click-and-brick, and mobile portals. As you read the article, ask yourself which of these emerging business patterns your company is attempting to compete with. Answering this question will help you get started assessing technology enablers and what opportunities they may present.
Order Fulfillment: The Hidden Key to e-Commerce Success
The Internet offers a wealth of new business opportunities for start-ups and established companies alike. Yet while everyone wants a piece of the e-Commerce action, not everyone has laid the necessary groundwork for success. One of the most often overlooked prerequisites is order fulfillment and distribution. Succeeding in the e-Commerce age is every bit as much about designing and executing these “blocking and tackling” functions as it is about the latest technology.
Ten Things You Must Know About E-business
Although the term e-business has entered the mainstream business lexicon, many people, including IT professionals, are still uncertain what it means. Is it the same as e-commerce, for example? What does an e-business look like? How does it differ from a normal business? |
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