http://www.outsourcingleadership.com Articles | WhitePapers | eSeminar en-us © Alsbridge, Inc. All rights reserved 300710 www.outsourcingleadership.com Articles http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/articles http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/articles/demisting-the-fog-of-outsourcing One of the most challenging evaluations of success is the ability to measure the financial success of an outsourcing agreement. This challenge can only be described as "The Fog of Outsourcing Results."

The Fog of Outsourcing Results is not an original concept. In fact, almost all organizations fall into it. We use the concept in this article as a comparison to the "The Fog of War", which is a term used to describe the level of ambiguity in situational awareness experienced by participants in military operations.

In short, whether you are developing a military strategy or a sourcing agreement, the probability of successfully executing even the best laid plans decreases once the first shot occurs. Demisting the Fog of Outsourcing Results starts with understanding how you got there. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/articles/RFP-development-successful-governance-requirements A robust governance model must be in place in order for an outsourcing relationship to successfully deliver on its objectives. However, understanding how to set up the components of a governance model within the RFP can be a challenge. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/articles/outsourcing-to-the-philippines Over the past decade BPO and software development services have quietly begun to build momentum in the Philippines. Is it time for you to begin taking advantage of the outsourcing and shared services opportunities in the Philippines?

If you are looking at outsourcing and shared services from a call center perspective regardless of whether you want to set up a call center or find a solid provider, the answer is yes and has been for several years.

This article highlights the reasons why the Philippines are a prime location for BPO services. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/articles/renegotiate-service-levels-201 The ability to renegotiate mutually beneficial service levels is the key to building a successful outsourcing relationship.

This article expands upon How to Renegotiate Service Levels 101: Getting Back to the Basics, summarizes the intent of SLAs, and explains key concepts used to manage a provider’s performance.

It is only through the right balance of each component that an effective SLA can be developed. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/articles/the-V-ws-of-sourcing-strategy Developing and executing an IT sourcing strategy may be the most important and daunting decisions of your career.

However these "Five Ws" provide a solution for categorizing your thoughts and actions related to the successful development and execution of a sourcing strategy. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/articles/is-sole-source-the-right-approach-for-you Creating a robust sourcing strategy can be a catalyst to drive change, realize cost savings, and bring efficiency improvements in order to achieve an organization’s long term business strategy and objectives. Many times, as organizations rationalize alternative sourcing strategies, they are faced with a decision between a sole source provider and a competitive multi-vendor approach. But, how do you know which approach is best for your organization? http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/articles/VII-secrets-to-captive-offshore-centers While offshore centers have been around for decades, high performing offshore centers seem to be a rare commodity.

This article list 7 secrets to operating a high performing and successful captive offshore center http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/articles/sourcing-models-what-CIO-must-know Financial analysis of the business case is the most critical step in any outsourcing decision. Unfortunately, sourcing models can easily be manipulated to reflect the bias of the person doing the calculation. CIO's should not just look at the analysis as presented, but asks questions to better understand how the models were calculated, what baselines and assumptions were used, and the bias of the person doing the modeling to ensure that an accurate representation of the different scenarios is being presented. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/articles/reduce-applications-support-costs Although it is becoming progressively more costly and complex to keep business-critical applications up and running in-house, some companies have been able to reduce their applications support costs by about 40% over a three to five year period. This article outlines the cost savings that can be achieved through applications management outsourcing. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/articles/avoid-sourcing-underperformance Case studies demonstrate that immature vendor management structures are a leading cause for sourcing underperformance. This article addresses how executives avoid the challenges of underperformance due to immature vendor management. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/whitepapers http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/whitepapers/staff-aug-to-managed-services As the evolution of sourcing options continues to broaden, many C-level executives have elected to offset a shrinking internal employee base with staff augmentation. However, there are several factors to evaluate when making this strategic decision.

This white paper covers the key questions and sourcing strategies C-level executives must explore before deciding whether staff augmentation, managed services, or a hybrid of the two is the best strategy to fulfill their vision and mission. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/whitepapers/outsourcing-2010-what-are-competitors-buying As the economic slump begins shifting slowly in a positive direction, it is vitally important for potential outsourcing and shared services clients to understand trends in the industry and the factors that impact service offerings, contract structure and of course, pricing. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/whitepapers/remote-infrastructure management As firms scour the landscape for ways to maintain their competitive edge, more and more emphasis is being placed on wringing out costs and adding value to the IT spend. Remote infrastructure management (RIM) is recognized as one of the most significant value drivers in IT outsourcing today. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/whitepapers/benchmarking-for-success-II Management and corporate leaders everywhere continue to seek out ways to create value during these tumultuous economic times. Companies that are thriving in the current economic climate are doing so because they constantly manage their outsourcing relationships and the many forces that continually change the delivery of services, impact the cost of delivery performance, and warrant benchmarking. This white paper covers those key areas that require benchmarking in order to optimize your outsourcing contract. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/whitepapers/staffing-drives-sourcing-strategy This white paper is about analyzing labor costs when evaluating your IT sourcing strategy. At the heart of the matter is the question of staffing, which arguably represents the most significant cost-savings component and unquestionably has the most impact on the management team making the decision. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of the process and models used to capture the staffing information to make informed decisions regarding an organization's retained vs. outsourced staff.

This entails assessing current staffing and the proposed provider staffing (Staffing Assessment) and evaluating provider pricing against the market (Price Evaluation). By no means does this analysis constitute the only important segment of the procurement process. However, without a clear and convincing staffing solution and compelling financial proposal, it is doubtful that a decision to outsource would be concluded. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/whitepapers/squeezing-it-infrastructure For the past 20 years or so, corporate management has looked to information technology (IT) services as a means to reduce overall annual costs. When all the internal cost reduction ideas had been squeezed dry, IT leaders turned to outsourcing to realize additional savings through leveraged service offerings, labor reductions via better tools and processes, and competition between the outsourcing service providers. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/whitepapers/blueprinting-your-vmo Early adopters of Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO) realized that they had to create a new vendor management competency in order to preserve the full value of these new business arrangements. However, many of the early adopters struggled with developing, or 'blueprinting', an effective capability... http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/whitepapers/shared-services-next-step-II Shared services organizations (SSOs) are measured based on the perceived or derived value from the output of their operations. SSOs believed to be on the forefront of providing maximum value to their customers exhibit many common characteristics during their evolution to maturity that others seeking to improve their current organizations can learn and use to their benefit. This white paper will discuss the “typical” evolutionary path seen in these valuable organizations, techniques and best practices they are employing, and describe some of the organizational models being utilized. It will also offer tips for your SSO regardless of where it currently stands in terms of level of maturity and adoption of best practices. The astute SSO should learn from these discussions to maximize the value that they are bringing to their constituents. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/whitepapers/outsourcing-transition Few things can ensure the failure of an outsourcing project like a poorly executed transition. Outsourcing transitions are complex endeavors requiring coordinated change across the people, processes and technologies in multiple areas of the organization. "Planning for the Plan" is the start of the process. Based on the readiness of your organization these plans can vary between a 'big-bang' transfer of responsibility or a phased implementation by process or business unit. This might sound difficult, but with a structured and process-driven approach you can ensure that your transition is cost effective and gets implemented in a seamless fashion. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/whitepapers/adm-pricing-rate-card Innovative methods for aligning risk and behavior to business needs rather than simply buying hours of staff skills and effort. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/eseminars http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/eseminars/outsourcing-contract-renegotiations The consequences to a buyer company that fails to renegotiate certain provisions of their outsourcing contract can be devastating. The trick to avoiding these consequences is knowing when and why it is time to renegotiate your outsourcing contract. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/eseminars/2010-Q2-it-pricing-trends Due to the current global economic uncertainties, financial volatility, and the dynamic business climate, now more than ever, clients must understand trends in the outsourcing industry.

Let the experts at ProBenchmark highlight the trends and directions for outsourcing transactions, in terms of both price and structure. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/eseminars/trends-to-leverage-social-marketplace Now more than ever, organizations must understand trends in the current sourcing industry in order to benefit from them. As the U.S. economy begins to show signs of improvement, more and more organizations are actively looking for strategies to ensure they will not get caught in the same volatile financial situation as before. New sourcing strategies, outsourcing, offshoring, and shared service center creation are key management approaches being used to reduce cost and leverage resources to their fullest potential. Are you aware of what the latest sourcing marketplace trends mean for your organization? http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/eseminars/cio-sourcing-strategy Developing and sustaining a successful sourcing strategy is a difficult task to undertake even when conditions are perfect. So, imagine doing so amid the divestiture of your company to a private equity firm and you will know the challenges faced and overcome by Dan Clark, CIO of NewPage. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/eseminars/Q1-2010-it-pricing-trends Due to the current global economic uncertainties, financial volatility, and the dynamic business climate, now more than ever, clients must understand trends in the outsourcing industry. Let the experts at ProBenchmark highlight the trends and directions for outsourcing transactions, in terms of both price and structure. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/eseminars/outsourcing-like-it-or-loathe-it Companies that only a year ago would have said "NO" to outsourcing are today forced to look at it. Some companies will say yes, some will say no, but more companies simply must look at it. Your executives and boards of directors are considering all options. We'll help you be prepared to answer their questions when they ask you if you've looked at all sourcing options. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/eseminars/application-outsourcing-101-how-to-avoid-rate-card-bingo Not all applications services relationships are created equal, but all need to be affordable, flexible, and implemented with the highest quality to support the core business structure of the enterprise. Without these services, the enterprise cannot create value for its clients and its shareholders. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/eseminars/proven-provider-selection-techniques By using proven best practices and techniques in provider selection, organizations can significantly reduce the risk of value leakage and improve the probability that their sourcing relationships will be sustainable over time. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/eseminars/a-sourcing-business-case-the-cfo-understands When a company is considering outsourcing or shared service as an option to deliver information technology or business process outsourcing services, most often it comes down to whether the numbers work and deliver results. While IT or operations may be interested in improving services or speed to market, the CFO requires a business case that explains in detail the expected value proposition of the deal on the table. http://www.outsourcingleadership.com/knowledgebase/eseminars/why-hire-a-sourcing-advisor Chances are, you've thought about outsourcing or shared services as a strategy to cut costs during these tough economic times.