Has HR rushed too quickly to the service centre?

Once upon a time, HR were viewed as fluffy people people, or at worst, pen-pushers who took your holiday forms. Today, apparently, they’re a faceless department, a phone number, a web portal… HR as we knew it has been killed … Read More

The critical nature of planning

Planning is one of those words that instantly fill people with dread, but if you want to move up the corporate food chain it’s something you will have to get good at – and fast.

The age-old adage that “failure … Read More

Contract negotiation: better the devil you know?

As companies approach the end of contract with an incumbent supplier, they must decide if it is in their best interest to renew or cast a wider net.

Alsbridge research and experience suggests that if a client is broadly satisfied, … Read More

SIAM: managing complexity

(This article was co-written with Greg Jones, an expert in shared services and outsourcing at PA Consulting Group.)

These are complicated times for the CIO. Businesses demand ever-faster change and operate under tight cost constraints with the expectation of excellent … Read More

Key drivers for managed print services

Despite the age of digital communications and prevalence of smartphones and tablets, few organisations actually operate a paperless work environment with many continuing to rely on printing to support business activities. Yet a poorly managed print infrastructure can lead to … Read More

Relationship management in five minutes

Relationships between organisations such as partnerships, alliances and collaboratives, are a prevalent way of working in these days of globalised, outsourced and specialised networks of organisations.  Whether in the public or private sectors they are notoriously hard to manage and … Read More

How mobility can compromise security

When corporations first started connecting their internal networks to the internet, they quickly discovered the importance of security. Fast-moving viruses and worms like the “I Love You Virus”, “Melissa” and “Code Red” could easily move from desktop to desktop clogging … Read More

Michael Porter: the shared value path

If you are familiar with the Vested approach and the books and articles I’ve written on collaboration and trust, you know about the importance I place on sharing value in business relationships.

You might say it’s the way that capitalism … Read More

Outsourcing social media

The digital landscape continues to evolve day-by-day, unleashing dramatic shifts that have profound business impact. The impact of technology on business and consumer behaviour is substantial. Social media has played its part in these dynamics by bringing consumers closer than … Read More

IT services contract activity drops to ten-year low

In 2012, the number of IT services contracts tracked by Ovum fell to its lowest level for ten years, as the industry continued to struggle in the aftermath of the global economic downturn. The lack of activity also contributed to … Read More

So What Now?

This article originally appeared in Outsource magazine Issue #31 Spring 2013.

Over the past two articles in this series [see Part 1 here and Part 2 here], we have considered the history of outsourcing and its current state. Now, to complete … Read More

Dead and Buried?

There has been much talk on the wires recently about the alleged “death of outsourcing”.  Many of the reasons given are simply to promote someone’s new “outsourcing paradigm”, from which you can assume that it is still outsourcing but with … Read More