There is another term that you will be hearing a lot of in 2012 - Social Business.

A decade ago, E-Business was the trend. Now almost all companies have an online presence  to try and reach a larger market and to enable them to provide easy access to information to customers. Now, the emergence of social networking and social media has caused the uprising of a new business trend called Social Business.

The trend this 2012 is to interact and build relationships online. Social Business utilizes the popularity of the social platforms that create, nurture and encourage online communities. But how do  we harness this trend in business?

The answer is simple. Companies must capitalize on Cloud delivery models and mobile devices to transform their E-Business into a Social Business

With the emergence of smart phones, anyone can access the Internet - specifically social networking sites – almost anywhere and anytime. Businesses are now taking advantage of  this constant 24/ link to their market. The smart phones have proven to be an efficient tool for both personal and business applications.

So why the emphasis on social network platforms? The fact is that each can define the market that it attracts. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn all have different markets and businesses can identify which platform holds the majority of their target market. It gives access to a filtered community that regularly logs on to interact, give views and opinions, and best of all receive information.

The other factor that allows the transformation are the Cloud delivery models. With the existence of data stored in the cloud, there is convenient access to general information that makes it easy for people to read about what businesses represent. It is a tool that businesses can use not just to connect with their market but with a distributed team as well. It lets people from different locations work in harmony and have access to immediate data that allow equally immediate action and strategic business planning. Decisions are made easily as the data from far away can be read and analyzed easily as if it was coming from the next office cubicle.

Social Business is seen to progress even further this year. 2012 is a good year to stay connected and to build relationships online. As more companies adapt into outsourcing, this trend and transformation seems to be the next logical step that businesses must take.

Software applications and service models are still evolving and your company must think about the benefits of joining in. However, it takes a professional to help you transform into a Social Business as online rules are very different from the real world.

For further information:

Bruce Mills

Joint CEO & Director

3W IT Consulting | IT Contracting  

Free Call:  1300 857 773

P: +61 7 3897 3009 | F: +61 7 3102 6280 | E: bruce.mills@3w.com.au | W: www.3w.com.au

Follow 3W Jobs: twitter.com/itemployment | Why Choose 3W? www.3w.com.au/intro/3W.html

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2011 was a year of natural disasters and man-made calamities that caused businesses and government agencies realize just how vulnerable their IT infrastructure really is. With our reliance on these architectural IT devices, we cannot afford to have them go unprotected. Millions of dollars are lost with just a few minutes of downtime and companies cannot afford any more losses in 2012.

 With this in mind, we need to discuss an equally vulnerable relationship in the IT industry: Cybersecurity and Mobility.

As the forecast on Mobility for 2012 remains  very promising, there is also a growing need to tighten Cybersecurity. In fact, government agencies have been asking for increased budget allocations so they can strengthen the security within and outside the walls of the infrastructure they are using. This is also a growing concern for private corporations.

The need for business efficiency is overpowering the IT concern for security. To date, security has yet to catch up to mobility.

The emerging popularity of smart phones and tablet computers is a double edged sword because the convenience it brings also poses a significant risk in terms of identity theft, breach of security firewalls, data loss and Cyber espionage. The threat lies in the ability of hackers and common users to access sensitive information without being detected. There is a noticeable increase in the Advanced Persistent Threats or APTs that governments are well aware of and businesses are asked to provide their own protection against unprecedented attacks.

The solution is tying up Cybersecurity in mobile devices - something that has long been debated because of privacy concerns of the users. Long has the government wanted to monitor mobile device activity but given the personal level in which it is used by many, it is not something that can easily pass as a regulation.

Until such time that mobility can be regulated, there are two paths that businesses can choose. One is to tighten information access but deal with the limitations it will bring to the growth of the company. The challenge is to make everything safer and secure to increase productivity and profitability without compromising the privacy of individual employees. The solution seems to be directed towards the security of Cloud Computing but it has yet to be connected with mobility.

Another path is  to monitor individual smart phones and devices through a log entry of every activity on the server. This however, can be time consuming, costly and inaccurate. And hiring a professional to do the job is a must when security is on the table.

Neither option is entirely satisfactory, but we have yet to come up with a better process to deal with this issue.

For further information: 

Bruce Mills

Joint CEO & Director

 3W IT Consulting | IT Contracting  

Free Call:  1300 857 773

P: +61 7 3897 3009 | F: +61 7 3102 6280 | E: bruce.mills@3w.com.au | W: www.3w.com.au

Follow 3W Jobs: twitter.com/itemployment | Why Choose 3W? www.3w.com.au/intro/3W.html

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Outsourcing is a very crucial venture that any business must undertake with care and planning. To do that, the presence of a Vendor Management (VM) team is a must. This monitoring team will help minimize the risks in outsourcing, reduce vendor costs, improve the outsourced business function and maximize the overall investment.

The success of your Vendor Management measures the success of your outsourcing endeavour. Many management decisions will be dependent on the reports derived from the VM. This will aid the  company to make strategic decisions that will lead to  business growth.

The  VM must focus on vendor relations above anything else. Building that relationship, making it flourish and strengthening it into a long term partnership are part of the job description. It has to be an agreement between the business and vendor so they are both benefiting from the endeavour.

The first tip in making  VM work is to make sure both sides have all the information that they need. For the company, this would include such items as reports on the business function outcome. For the vendor, this would be the data that is needed from the company that will enable them to  produce the output required. Clear communication is part of the job so a VM must be able to share what is needed at the right moment.

Another tip to strengthening the VM is to allow the vendor to participate or contribute to the growth of the function. Though they are not expected to make final strategic decisions, the expertise of the vendor must be taken into consideration. They have invested their time and energy in updating their knowledge on the function being outsourced to them so  they provide a good source of information.

In relevance to that, the client, through the VM must be able to understand the business of the vendor as well. It pays to invest in their success and improvement because that will benefit the company too. When they can  upgrade infrastructure because of a client’s investment, that will ultimately mean better output for your business.

A good Vendor Manager also negotiates beyond the price. It has to be a win-win situation with high quality output as the goal. Enlist vendor performance indicators that will help identify winning partners in case there is a need to change providers. The VM must standardize the systems and processes so it can be perfected over time.

For further information:

Bruce Mills

Joint CEO & Director

 3W IT Consulting | IT Contracting  

 Free Call:  1300 857 773

P: +61 7 3897 3009 | F: +61 7 3102 6280 | E: bruce.mills@3w.com.au | W: www.3w.com.au

Follow 3W Jobs: twitter.com/itemployment | Why Choose 3W? www.3w.com.au/intro/3W.html

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Vendor Management has become a necessity in outsourcing, especially for those who have outsourced core functions. The Vendor Manager (VM) or team may come from existing staff members within the company or hired from the outside. Whatever the source is, the VM must be knowledgeable in the outsourced function, the rules in outsourcing and the agreement between the client and the vendor.

 A good VM will not only ensure that the function is performed correctly, they will also strive to improve that function by analysing the current processes and observation of the vendor’s performance. Not only will the VM look at risks, they will also manage the costs and KPI of the service provider. They are central to every decision and, given that importance, selecting the people who manage this task must be carried out carefully.

 A VM must have the following characteristics to function effectively:

1. Management skills - for managing the following areas: client vs vendor risks, manpower competencies and contract agreement.

2. Coordination skills - for working between the company and the vendor to best represent the function that was outsourced.

3. Examiner skills - for analysing the performance of the vendor based on the contract. It is also a quality that will help the VM get feedback from all the people affected by the outsourcing.

4. Monitoring skills - for gathering information to check the progress of the function.

5. Reporting skills - for proper documentation and analysis of the outsourced function. . This data will be used by the company to make strategic business decisions for the company.

All of these skills will help the VM take care of the outsourced business function.  However, it is equally important that the company aims to gain the  support of the in house managers who will be affected by the outsourcing.  It is important that they are involved with the process as well. In particular, the CFO needs to work closely with the vendor manager to ensure that all the objectives are met by the vendor.

There are also vendor management products are available in the market which come with a complete a set-up that allows for monitoring of compliance of the vendor.  In some situations these can be either a VM solution in themselves or an important tool which your vendor manager can use.

For further information contact:

Bruce Mills

Joint CEO & Director

3W IT Consulting | IT Contracting  

Free Call:  1300 857 773

P: +61 7 3897 3009 | F: +61 7 3102 6280 | E: bruce.mills@3w.com.au | W: www.3w.com.au

Follow 3W Jobs: twitter.com/itemployment | Why Choose 3W? www.3w.com.au/intro/3W.html

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This is the question that all outsourcing investors would like to answer: what do they really save when they invest in outsourced talent.

We all know that outsourcing has now gone beyond focusing solely on cost savings. Given that, it has to be measured by more than the monetary savings. Other things we need to look at include the new system and process improvements that came out of the arrangement. Basically, anything that made the quality of the business increase because of the outsourced investment is worth measuring.

It is important to note the benefits of outsourcing in order to gauge what savings will be incurred when you do outsource a business function or project. Here are the top 3 benefits that you should know about:

1. Better Results - given the expertise of the service provider, you will be guaranteed to get better output than could be achieved in-house. Since their business depends on the service they are giving, they are bound to invest in better infrastructure, processes and systems that will not only give great output for the function but also enhance their expertise further.

2. Business Growth - by relieving the company of certain non-core functions, they can now concentrate their resources on things  that should be their focus. That way, all the functions are being handled by experts and a holistic growth is allowed to happen..

3. Equal Opportunities - since functions are being handled by experts, businesses are given equal opportunities. The limited resources of small business owners will no longer be a hindrance in producing top quality output. In many cases, they will be at par with the way multimillion dollar companies are being run.

If all three are evident in your outsourced function, then you can say that your investment was a success.

When you think about the savings you incur with outsourcing, it has to be done carefully and at the right time. Proper analysis means an understanding of how the service provider and this new arrangement will bring forth your expected ROI. Given that, you need to also know what risks  outsourcing will bring to your company. Here are the risks that you should be wary of to maximize your savings.

1. High Saving Expectations - some companies focus so much on the monetary savings that they cannot accept the gradual increase of the ROI. Because of this, they pull the plug on the project without allowing it to grow any further. It will only lead to lost investments because it was not given the chance to progress. Outsourcing will allow you to generate savings but this will not be evident in the first few months or possibly even in the first year. However, as the outsourced function settles with the service provider and the expertise grows, the savings are guaranteed to increase over time.

2. Security and Trust Issues - these issues can be difficult to overcome, nevertheless, clients and service providers have found that  they can be by building a mutually beneficial partnership. Understand that the growth of the clients business leads to the growth of the service provider as well.  Aim to build a partnership and not just a buyer/seller relationship and both of you will eventually  overcome the security and trust issues.

3. Quality of Service - this issue can be settled when you do a background check on the service provider. Past and current clients will help you paint a picture of just how successful your relationship with this service provider can be.

4. Loss of Control - though you turn over major portions of the function to the service provider, you need to maintain absolute control of the whole project. The small details can be their responsibility but the strategic decisions and changes must come from you. Although this is important, you still have to respect the expertise of the provider in developing the function outsourced to them. Learn to listen and see if their suggestions are aligned with your company’s outsourcing objectives.

By keeping a well-rounded opinion of outsourcing, you will be able to identify the real savings you are getting from your partnership with your Outsourcing service provider.

For the complete details, read our White Paper on “What You Really Save When You Invest in Outsourced Talent”.

Measuring your savings in Outsourcing can be a bit tricky as you need to look at more than just the monetary gains. It is easy to count the numbers associated with expenses incurred and profits earned after you went into the agreement with your service provider. The challenge is identifying the unquantifiable improvements.

To create a balanced measurement process,  it is important to identify the factors that you need to measure. Let us start with the quantifiable ones: Manpower salary, downsizing effects and overhead costs. All three are related because of the need to remove redundancies that are a result of the outsourced arrangement.

For the unquantifiable aspect, you firslty need to focus  on productivity and the factors associated with its improvement. For instance, if you outsourced the customer service function of your company, customer satisfaction will be the foremost gain you will see. It is not easily measured or directly associated with profits, but it is a catalyst for a lot more improvements. Brand image, product patronage and other positive effects can be generated from good customer service.

Another unquantifiable aspect is the reduced workload within the company that then allowed the remaining resources to focus on their core competencies. Check the growth in the other departments that benefited from the reduction and resource focus and you will see where your savings are evident. That could also include overall job satisfaction, and growth in the expertise within the company.

It is also important that you know the factors that can affect your cost savings. If your figures are not going as planned, it might be hindered by one of these:

1. Outsourcing costs. It is important that you protect yourself from unforeseen costs that the provider  may pass on. These could include additional infrastructure investments that were not included in the service proposal during the pre-agreement stage. A clause or two in the contract should cover against this. Not only should you look into the service provider, but you should analyse the costs in-house as well. Is the Vendor Management Team more costly than expected? If yes, then you need to re-evaluate the arrangement.

2. Transition Costs. The transition cost is also a factor. It is a one-time, big-time expense that  is necessary as a hastily carried out, poorly organised transitioned function can ultimately cost you more. At the same time, a long transition will only incur costs while  you are waiting for the outsourced function to swing into full effect. You need a balance to minimize the costs and maximize your transfer resources.

3. External Costs. The external costs include the inflation rate and exchange factors that can affect the savings in outsourcing. Especially if the service provider is offshore, then the exchange rate will certainly affect the cost of outsourcing. Like the outsourcing costs, this can be included as a clause in your contract so the client and the service provider can re-negotiate the terms in case of a major inflation or exchange rate difference.

For more detailed information, read our White Paper on “How to Monitor Your Savings in Outsourcing”.

There are several reasons why it is important to establish a Vendor Management Team when deciding to venture into outsourcing. But before looking at these, let us first define what proper Vendor Management or VM really is.

VM consists of a person or a team whose aim is to ensure that third party service providers stay within the required SLA. Through this team, you are able to maximize your outsourcing investment through optimum performance, reduced risk and costs and ultimate compliance.

Businesses usually enter into outsourcing arrangements for two reasons: cost cutting and access to expertise. These are the objectives that must be the focus of the VM.   With the unstable economy making us all very protective of our investments, it is even more crucial to have a VM responsible for monitoring your outsourcing providers. Your VM will also free you to concentrate on your core competencies instead of being distracted by the management of the vendors. It is what makes outsourcing beneficial to the growth of the business.

The main task of a Vendor Manager is maintaining the harmonious relationship between the business and the service provider. If both are living up to the standards set out in the contract, then all is well.

The VM is also responsible for scrutinizing the performance of the supplier. It does not merely check for errors, but they also look for ways to improve the business function being outsourced. How does the new manpower handle the job?

That idea is not limited to the manpower level of course. VMs must be asking the question: have all the problems been solved after outsourcing or did the vendor make it worse? If yes, then the VM should help select a new service provider - if the problem is the overall performance and coordination.

The bottom line importance of a Vendor Management Team is to protect the investment of the business and make sure the ROI goes beyond what is invested. They think strategically and provide suggestions to the management of both the business and the vendor on how to improve the performance of the business function. Though they are not necessarily part of the management that will make the strategic decisions in the business, their reports and professional opinions will matter.

For further information please contact:

Bruce Mills

Joint CEO & Director

3W IT Consulting | IT Contracting   

Free Call:  1300 857 773

P: +61 7 3897 3009 | F: +61 7 3102 6280 | E: bruce.mills@3w.com.au | W: www.3w.com.au 

Follow 3W Jobs: twitter.com/itemployment | Why Choose 3W? www.3w.com.au/intro/3W.html

follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/brucemills

view my profile at: http://linkedin.com/in/brucemills

With everything that is happening globally, it seems that the ICT industry in Australia is all set for an interesting new year. Unfortunately it is hard to tell if it will be a good year considering the uncertainty in the air that is causing hesitation to invest in the industry.

Though Australia is surviving the global economic problems better than most countries, it does not mean that local business owners have reason not to be cautious. While the Australian economy has proven to be quite resilient over the past few years, we remain wary in the face of ongoing instability in other countries.

Forecasts show that ICT spending is expected to reach $653 billion this year. That is an increase of a little over 10% on 2011 spending. However, if the current trends continue, this growth will slowly decline in the next few years - but is still likely to be around 9% by 2015.

Looking at some specific predictions; cloud computing in the mining industry will experience a boost this year. In particular, data collection and storage will expand in the cloud giving investors the ability to more closely follow the progress of their mining company interests. There will also be a trend for communications to move towards the cloud as well as increasing use of the pay-as-you-go commercial model.

The mobile enterprise industry will also be concentrating more on security issues. Developers will need to work hard to deal with the growing variety of attacks that threatens us through mobile technology.  This increasing security demand in the mobile industry in Australia will likely propel them at a great rate towards digitization. The workspace will start to experience the benefits of mobility - as we see more and more smart phones being utilized. Growth in mobile application development is expected to continue rising.

The increasing use of outsourcing by Australian companies in the past few years has given business the confidence to use this approach for individual projects as well as key business functions. This maturity will see them expecting more from service providers in terms of business and operational metrics to measure the growth of their investment. In particular, business value KPIs are now a common clause in service contracts.

To summarise, there seems likely to be a growing focus on cloud computing and security this 2012.  It will be interesting to see how the shortage of local manpower we have experienced in the past few years will be affected by this.  Hopefully there will be enough growth there to support the business sector’s move to greater technological heights.

Concentrate on the things that are trending in the outsource industry. IT related projects are commonly outsourced. There is a larger pool of talented professionals across the ocean that you can tap into and hire for specific periods.

There are many countries, such as the Philippines, China, Russia and India, who have invested in training IT professionals. 

At 3W, we recognize the potential of our closest neighbour, the Philippines:

1. They have excellent English language skills.

2. They are more likely to understand Australian culture due to their own Western ideology -  a result of many years of American colonization.

3. They are extremely patient, service oriented and competent individuals.

If you decide to give outsourcing a try, make sure to put your trust in a company that will serve your needs. Open communication, great talent pool and highly professional systems are among the things that you should look for.

In a world where businesses are moving towards a global cyberspace market, outsourcing is something that companies are increasingly using. Outsourcing is simply looking beyond your manpower’s capabilities and entrusting tasks and projects to external experts to take care of, generally more efficiently than you can. There are several things to be gained by outsourcing certain projects.

The main benefit of outsourcing is that you get to focus on what you do best.  For instance, a lot of businesses maintain a presence on Social networking sites. Given the time commitment needed to do this truly successfully, considering rather than doing this yourself, you can outsource it to a company who does it for a price.

Well you may wonder how is it beneficial for me to pay for someone to do something that I can do myself.

For one, your hourly rate may be more expensive than those you can hire in outsourcing companies. Countries like the Philippines offer services for as low as $15 an hour. Let’s say your hourly rate is $40. If you outsource the maintenance of your Social Network presence you get to save $25.

Not only that, you free your time to deal with more relevant tasks that only you can do. By delegating the tasks that you are not an expert on, you get to concentrate on capitalizing on what you are good at.

If you think “but I could employee someone locally to be responsible for our companies social media presence” – of course that is an option, but let us consider this in more detail first.  Because you are hiring someone who is an expert in the social media area, you will have to pay them a competitive market rate salary, as well then also being responsible for all the government reporting and taxation requirements that go along with engaging employees. You also need to spend money on all the equipment that employee will need to carry out the job you have employed then for. Whereas, if you outsource the task, all you need to worry about paying is the hourly rate and that is it.

Not that we are saying that you fire everyone and outsource everything. There are jobs that only in house personnel can do. Sales people need to be out on the field to generate sales. Managers are needed to manage your staff. Not to mention the maintenance staff and clerical personnel who keep the company running.

Concentrate on the things that are trending in the outsource industry. IT related projects are commonly outsourced. There is a larger pool of talented professionals across the ocean that you can tap into and hire for specific periods.

There are many countries, such as the Philippines, China, Russia and India, who have invested in training IT professionals. 

At 3W, we recognize the potential of our closest neighbour, the Philippines:

1. They have excellent English language skills.

2. They are more likely to understand Australian culture due to their own Western ideology -  a result of many years of American colonization.

3. They are extremely patient, service oriented and competent individuals.

If you decide to give outsourcing a try, make sure to put your trust in a company that will serve your needs. Open communication, great talent pool and highly professional systems are among the things that you should look for.

Cloud Computing is steadily gaining strength and any business who wants to be current needs to know what it is and how to use it. There are many research articles available on the subject of cloud computing and it would pay for you to read those you can access in order to learn how it can be incorporated within your business.

It is often speculated that the next phase of growth for the outsourcing industry is in Cloud Computing. Instead of selling applications as products (such as Microsoft Office), clients can now get that application as a service. This way, users will only have to pay for the application that they need and only when they need it. The costs can be kept to a minimum and the service is guaranteed to be updated. Incoming updates are not usually charged to the client - which is a good thing.

To better understand the elements of Cloud Computing, this blog article will look at the 4 different cloud deployment tools that are most commonly used. You can identify which tool will work best for the type of business that you have.

The first is the Public Cloud. This is when cloud services are provided by a third party provider. This situation means the service is limited by the network bandwidths of the Internet. Even though it is termed as being” public”, that does not make it free. There may be some applications and trial period offers that are available free, but the applications and services are usually not as complete and sophisticated compared to a paid service. This type of resource is usually charged on a per-service basis. If you are questioning the security of this deployment tool, providers will usually have mechanisms in place to control and limit the access of the users if needed.

The second deployment tool is called the Private Cloud. It is basically the same as that of the public cloud but this time the services are managed within the organization. It is as flexible as the public cloud but the user has more direct control over security. There is also greater control of the service in general since governance is the direct responsibility of the user. Something that may not be as true with the public version.

The third deployment tool is the Hybrid Cloud. Hybrid meaning a combination of two or more things - in this case, the public and private cloud. This deployment tool is ideal for companies who have critical information that cannot be outsourced to a third party. As such, there can be a division of services where part of the function is outsourced to a public cloud while the more sensitive part is kept in house and managed by a private cloud.

The last deployment tool is known as the Community Cloud. This type of deployment is maintained and managed to service more than one organization. As similar as that may sound to a public cloud, the security and exclusivity makes the difference. The governance may be within the group of organizations or through a third party service provider.

There is nothing new about the fact that outsourcing poses a certain level of security risk for clients. Anything that you hand over to an outside service provider is in danger of being exposed. This is especially true for outsourced software development.

Though security should not be taken lightly the benefits of outsourcing software development far outweigh this concern. However, that does not mean clients should not protect their outsourced software development projects.

Security measures actually begin with your choice of service provider. Here are some tips to ensure your provider can give you secure software applications.

Check for ISO certifications or even other documents that will prove they are compliant with security standards.

Do a background check before discussing the final contract with your provider. Do not be afraid to ask questions. Search and contact their client references and read through their feedback forums.

Make sure your contract covers all your concerns on software security. Establish a firm and secure network connection with your provider. Write in the contract all the tools and methods that will be used in quality and security testing. It should also contain the security environment that both the client and service provider must have to maintain the confidentiality of the information used in the application. Lastly, agree to a schedule of security checks and monitoring, not only during the development phase, but for as long as the application will be used after deployment.

If you are a client in need of outsourcing your software application development, there are steps that you can take to make sure your application and the information you entrust  to your service provider is given the best protection there is.

The first thing you need to do is to know what needs to be protected. Have a list of all the software being developed by the company. Then, create a risk assessment standard by which you classify the applications being outsourced. This standard can be based on the following measures:

disclosure complications,

operational risks, and

financial losses in terms of information breach.

Once you have defined what you want to protect, write a security and assurance testing process. This will ensure that the software being developed can meet the risk assessment standards and is ready for deployment.

When you have this information, coordinate with the service provider for implementation. Have them reflected in the contract together with the standards by which the software application must run to maintain security.

It also helps if you have a separate security and quality testing provider. Ideally, the developer and the quality assurance  should be from different companies to make sure  you get top quality software.

For further information please contact:

Bruce Mills

Joint CEO & Director

3W IT Consulting | IT Contracting   

Free Call:  1300 857 773

P: +61 7 3897 3009 | F: +61 7 3102 6280 | E: bruce.mills@3w.com.au | W: www.3w.com.au 

Follow 3W Jobs: twitter.com/itemployment | Why Choose 3W? www.3w.com.au/intro/3W.html

follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/brucemills

view my profile at: http://linkedin.com/in/brucemills

As the New Year is welcomed in, you will no doubt be wondering what the future is holding in store for the economy and your business. You may even be wondering if this year is the right time to consider venturing into outsourcing part of your business or a new project you have planned.

Outsourcing has come a long way in the past decade and a lot of us are marvelling at how much it has revolutionized the way we work. There are several things that we can anticipate about this industry in terms of changes, improvements and growth in 2012.

On top of the list is cloud computing. It has been said that cloud computing is steadily gaining popularity and a lot of people and companies are venturing into this space. It is predicted that this year, cloud computing will reach the pinnacle of its growth - or at the very least, the start of it. Applications will be developed to support this new industry as business owners begin to invest in it. In particular, the private cloud is expected to progress in 2012. The industries that are predicted to benefit most from this include finance, retail and manufacturing. This growth is not limited to businesses and enterprises alone. Individual consumers are also predicted to take advantage of this new application.

The next prediction involves IT spending. In 2011, businesses were very cautious about their spending. The same is expected to be true for this coming year. With the continuing economic turmoil in Europe, companies will  likely continue to be ‘penny pinching’ with their spending. This is not to say that they will not be investing at all.  It is just that it will be approached with more caution and strategy than ever before. So for service providers, expect some serious negotiations to happen. In particular, the spending may be  concentrated on centralizing functions and vendors to minimize costs and risks.

On a brighter side, emerging economies are something positive that we can expect in the outsourcing industry. It will give clients more choices for quality service as developing countries start  expanding their specializations and concentrating on deepening their expertise. The strength of their economies due to the financial contributions from the outsourcing industry will encourage respective governments to support the industry to even greater extents. This support will lead to better service, greater investments and higher quality output from service providers. Competition will be fierce, however, as providers  compete to get the attention of clients who have limited IT budgets.

These predictions have emerged from the state of global economy and industry when  2011 ended. As we face 2012, we arm ourselves to protect against the negative predictions and continue to be hopeful for a progressive year for the outsourcing industry.

For further information please contact:

Bruce Mills

Joint CEO & Director

3W IT Consulting | IT Contracting   

Free Call:  1300 857 773

P: +61 7 3897 3009 | F: +61 7 3102 6280 | E: bruce.mills@3w.com.au | W: www.3w.com.au 

Follow 3W Jobs: twitter.com/itemployment | Why Choose 3W? www.3w.com.au/intro/3W.html

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Well it has finally happened. The Philippines is now at the top of the BPO industry as the leading Call Centre service provider in the world…. beating India by 50,000 consultants/agents. There are 400,000 Filipinos versus 350,000 Indian call centre agents. So if someone from the United States, Europe or Australia calls a customer service number, chances are the call will be answered by a Filipino.

So what made the Philippines the number one service provider of call centre agents?

Compared to India - who was the leading outsourcing country in the world - companies now choose the Philippines specifically because of their English communication skills and their cultural heritage that is so deeply westernised.

Companies such as Convergys, Accenture, Sykes and AT&T – to name just a few - have invested in call centre facilities in the Philippines.

When budget cuts became the driving force behind a change to outsourcing, India was seen to be the best country to invest in. In fact, they have been the undisputed leader in the outsourcing industry for some time. However, when you consider some of the barriers to outsourcing - such as communication, language and cultural background - the Philippines does come out as the better choice.

To start with, Indians use idioms which can be quite difficult to understand - especially by Americans. It helps that Filipinos are taught English from as early as the first grade and watch a lot of American television as they grow older. Add this to the fact that the country used to be a US colony and you have an Asian country with a very westernised culture that fits well with the outsourcing market they cater for.

Filipinos themselves are known to be very hospitable, hardworking, patient and deeply compassionate - which makes them very well suited for customer support roles.

In terms of salary comparisons, India is still the lowest, but the difference isn’t much. Indians earn USD$250 a month while Filipinos earn USD$300.  This difference seems to be justified, however, when you compare their points of difference.

Though India is still the leading source of software development outsourcing, the Philippines is now the new go-to place for call centre services. This reveals just how companies are consider the strengths of different countries when it comes to the various outsourcing genres.

For further information contact:

Bruce Mills

Joint CEO & Director

3W IT Consulting | IT Contracting  

Free Call:  1300 857 773

P: +61 7 3897 3009 | F: +61 7 3102 6280 | E: bruce.mills@3w.com.au | W: www.3w.com.au

Follow 3W Jobs: twitter.com/itemployment | Why Choose 3W? www.3w.com.au/intro/3W.html

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There is a lot riding on your outsourcing investment. The investment costs can be high and the workload needed during the pre-outsource and transition phases is demanding. And even if you have unloaded the business function to the service provider, there is still one thing you have to do - monitor your outsourced project.

The first few months of life of your outsourced function, will most likely not see the high returns you have hoped for. Especially if you have gone through the transition phase hastily (which can prove to be a mistake), you will probably have lesser savings that anticipated. More often than not, you will have the CFO breathing down your neck - asking for the promised savings NOW.

If you find yourself in this position, we have a few tips for you to be able to measure if this outsourcing investment is indeed worth your while.

In truth, there are several factors to consider when you are calculating your savings. It goes beyond adding the profits and subtracting the expenses.

To start with, you have to remember exactly why you went into outsourcing in the first place. For instance, if you outsourced your customer service to a call centre in the Philippines, one of your outsourcing objectives must be to improve this function to achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction. Secondary objectives could include brand improvements and first hand market research. These are things that could be a challenge to quantify as they are not directly affecting your sales - as compared to telemarketing, for instance.

Also, the strategy to implement a function must be aligned with your objective. Otherwise, you will be getting the wrong results from your service provider thus garnering disappointments instead of success. Not only does it have to be aligned, but it has to be within your capabilities and the budget you have set for yourself.

Clients can also focus too much on the SLAs. Though this is central to your success measurement, it is hardly the whole picture. The SLAs will only allow you to measure the performance of your manpower - but it will not give you a picture of just how much the outsourced venture has transformed your business towards growth.

Another factor to consider is change. Oftentimes, clients stick to their original arrangement - which can only end up limiting you. The outsourcing venture is not just a means to transfer a function - it is also a catalyst for change. Over time, you have to respect the service provider’s expertise in developing the function entrusted to them. Work on suggestions that may veer away from the original path you have set - but make sure to still follow your objective - or even be an improvement on it. At the same time, you must also build up the retained workforce to adapt and take full advantage of the new arrangement with the provider.

By considering all these factors, you will have a better idea of where this investment/arrangement is taking your company. Remember, though the quantifiable measures are important, the qualitative outcomes of your project are also a key factor to the success of your outsourcing endeavour.

For further information contact:

Bruce Mills

Joint CEO & Director

3W IT Consulting | IT Contracting  

Free Call:  1300 857 773

P: +61 7 3897 3009 | F: +61 7 3102 6280 | E: bruce.mills@3w.com.au | W: www.3w.com.au

Follow 3W Jobs: twitter.com/itemployment | Why Choose 3W? www.3w.com.au/intro/3W.html

follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/brucemills

view my profile at: http://linkedin.com/in/brucemills