Much of the monitoring of an outsourcing deal is based on specific metrics. There are good reasons for this approach — after all, metrics are “hard numbers” and are relatively easy to measure. No doubt, meeting metrics is also a very important part of any quality outsourcing deal. But are metrics everything? […]
Here is my annual list of New Year’s Resolutions for those of us in the outsourcing industry.
For Outsourcing Customers
1) I will dedicate adequate resources to managing my outsourcing deal.
2) I will send out RFP’s only to vendors with a chance of earning the business.
3) I will set service levels that reflect my true business needs, […]
As BPO outsourcing matures and more and more companies are getting into the fray, increasing numbers of companies are now also realizing that perhaps outsourcing hasn’t been such a good deal. The “lift and shift” mentality so commonly afflicting companies is coming back to haunt them in the final analysis – issues from poor […]
The life cycle of outsourcing as a trend is following the same pattern as recent business fads. Certainly, the U.S. domestic deal flow, which has been weak at best, is showing its age. I expect that European outsourcing, which was the major hot growth area in 2007 - will face a similar fate […]
A September 17, 2007, article in CIO magazine entitled “How to Measure Real Outsourcing Success” (Hint: It’s Not the SLAs), pointed out some interesting statistics about outsourcing and outsourcing happiness. Starting with the premise that SLA statistics are not a measure of happiness, the article described a process built by Dr. Paul Roehig at […]
There was an interesting short article in Computer World on Monday, August 27 that described a trend in which outsourcing customers are bringing disaster recovery back in-house. Having witnessed this debate on an ongoing basis several times, I read this article with a combination of cynicism and intrigue.
TPI’s Peter Allen, in a recent blog posting in The Deal, asked whether it was better to offshore a business process using a captive or third-party model. Interestingly, the article offered no real conclusion to the question of which is better, but did highlight the most important aspect – and the biggest shortcoming – […]
The Wall Street Journal article dated June 16, 2007 and entitled “The Seven Myths of Outsourcing” (at this link) is a great survey of significant issues arising in outsourcing deals. While it points out certain major flaws in the deal-making process, however, it fails to scratch below the surface to the misaligned incentives that give […]
According to a recent article found on ZDNet UK (here), more and more U.S. companies are participating in “do-it-yourself” (DIY) outsourcing. This has caused a slow down among outsourcing consultants and law firms – all of which suffer when companies take on outsourcing themselves. What is being gained and lost in this transition?
I recently had the opportunity to represent an outsourced services supplier in one deal and a new outsourced services customer in another. In both deals, the other side provided the paper. The experience left me even more sure that a better way must exist for these deals.
Addressing Complexity
Complexity is the first thing that we must change to facilitate the development of governable outsourcing deals. We have all been taught to believe, axiomatically, that “more information is better information.” Current outsourcing deals generally reflect this approach, drawing “every leaf on every tree” to describe the outsourced and retained services.
More information […]
Why do we create ungovernable deals?
Outsourcing deal documents fail to support governance for many reasons. Chief among them is that the deal paper is simply too complex. These documents go on for literally hundreds of pages, are full of arcane language and do not provide adequate information to permit a Customer to govern […]
Like most outsourcing attorneys, I have experienced the telephone book-sized outsourcing deal. Truth be told, I even created a couple in my day. Being in the relatively unique position of in-house outsourcing counsel, I also had the opportunity to deal with the other end of the process – governance. While these documents were good, sometimes […]
A few years ago, a product came out that could have - and should have - revolutionized much of the way that business information is presented. Called the “Ambient Orb,” the product was simply a sphere that glowed, usually with the stock market. Green was up - the brighter, the higher; red was down, the […]
Over the past few years, outsourced call centers have become a whipping boy for the trouble with outsourcing. We have all seen the cartoons or the YouTube videos and we have all had similar experiences… A poor customer negotiates a maze of teleprompts and menus, is placed on hold for an extended period […]