Conclusion: This month, there has been a particular focus on service-based Cloud offerings. As this market matures, there are increased concerns regarding vulnerabilities that arise when using evolving environments without adopting new enabling tools and processes to support a shift. Approaches, such as retaining legacy applications in a new technological space can cause difficulties in areas such as security, which require more high-level data collection and analysis for success, rather than basic functions offered in legacy systems. With a dramatic increase in vendors offering service-based solutions, it is important for customers to ensure solutions have underlying systems that can support businesses and strategic objectives prior to establishing agreements. It is critical for customers to alter their perspective of service-based Cloud offerings from an alternative hosting platform to an IT toolset that can alter business processes and efficiency, with adequate foundations to achieve business objectives. Irene Pimentel 01 February 2016 Sourcing Trends Read more ... Sourcing Monthly October 2015 – November 2015 Conclusion: This month, discussions regarding analytics and data-driven innovation have been prominent. As the role of IT changes from providing technology solutions to driving business outcomes and strategy through the use of technology agile services to support business processes and targets are required. Companies have recognised that data handling and having the capacity to absorb, use and deliver data are becoming core competencies. This has prompted the growth of service providers that manage and analyse data, as well as providing associated services such as security and storage. Irene Pimentel 03 December 2015 Sourcing Trends Read more ... Living the Chief Digital Officer role Conclusion: Business leaders who have concluded that a Chief Digital Officer is required to provide a critical focus on their digital transformation plans, will find that defining the role in detail will remain an ongoing challenge because it is intensely context-sensitive. Consequently, the first iteration of a Chief Digital Officer’s (CDO) role responsibilities, job description and person specification needs to be widely canvassed and tolerant of the ambiguity between maintaining ‘business as usual’ and a digital transformation. A CDO role action plan is an important first step in setting and clarifying expectations. Geoff Johnson 02 November 2015 Coaching and Mentoring Sourcing Trends Read more ... Sourcing Monthly June 2015 – July 2015 Conclusion: This month, discussions regarding Big Data and analytics were prominent. With increasing volumes of information possessed by organisations, a clear and solid information management strategy is critical. To meet this rise in demand, new product and service offering levels and uptake in external information management services were high. The development of this service area has been driven by the recognition that this type of data management can provide organisations with insights for action, organise unstructured data more efficiently and will continue to evolve as vendors provide tailored solutions to meet customer needs. Irene Pimentel 01 August 2015 Sourcing Trends Read more ... Sourcing Monthly May 2015 – June 2015 Conclusion: This month has seen a number of large and high value outsourcing agreements. The Manchester United/Epson contract renewal was especially interesting and indicative of increased flexibility when vendors and buyers establish outsourcing agreements. Epson will continue to provide IT infrastructure and obtain advertising rights from Manchester United in a combined sponsorship/managed services agreement, established in 2010. These types of outcome-based, business-focused agreements which provide unique benefits to both parties can result in stronger relationship foundations, transparency, and a greater chance of success during the course of an arrangement and when resolving difficulties that may arise. Irene Pimentel 01 July 2015 Sourcing Trends Read more ... Sourcing Monthly April 2015 – May 2015 Conclusion: Prominent this month are a wide range of new projects and service offerings in the IT outsourcing industry. This growth has highlighted the necessity for flexible environments and models that can adapt to changing requirements and company demands. Recent announcements by outsourcing vendors CSC and HP to divide their operations indicates increased flexibility is required beyond not only new product models, but also business models and corporate structures. HP was founded in 1939, and CSC in 1959, with current restructures aimed at enhancing efficiency and services provided. Irene Pimentel 31 May 2015 Sourcing Trends Read more ... Sourcing Monthly March 2015 – April 2015 Conclusion: especially interesting this month was Datacom’s and the Department of Health’s infrastructure and support services agreement. In particular the service provision model which is outcomes-based with a consumption-based pricing model. These types of agreements highlight the demand for arrangements which are more transparent in order to reduce conflict, align interests, and increase contract flexibility to adapt to changes in customer needs or vendor capacities. By establishing stronger and clearer foundations, customers and vendors are more likely to have a sustainable and successful outsourcing agreement. Irene Pimentel 02 May 2015 Sourcing Trends Read more ... Sourcing Monthly February 2015 – March 2015 Conclusion: discussions regarding innovation in the ICT industry have been prominent this month, with a focus on investment in new technologies and collaborative arrangements for further development to support managed ICT services. With a dynamic and continuously evolving services landscape, there is a clear need to differentiate offerings, as well as innovate to support new service models, technologies, and changing customer demands. Flexibility is critical if vendors are to provide solutions that support the needs of its customers and the market. By combining knowledge, expertise, access to resources as well as products and services, businesses in disparate industries are providing tailored and alternative solutions to cater to market demands that are emerging at a fast rate. Irene Pimentel 01 April 2015 Sourcing Trends Read more ... Sourcing Monthly January 2015 – February 2015 Conclusion: this month, vendor collaborations for both development and education have been prominent. With increasingly complex IT environments and multiple vendors providing a range of services, it is necessary to understand the flow-on effects of adding new systems to technology infrastructure as well as possess resolutions to difficulties which can have a dramatic impact on business and company IT. Understanding, developing strategies, and establishing response measures for critical issues which can arise in specific environments is a necessity. Collaborative development and educational initiatives help to support these needs. In March, IBRS’ James Turner will be speaking in a webinar dedicated to data loss prevention, with a focus on strategic measures that cater to complex and unique environments. This type of information and awareness is invaluable to professionals, particularly when infrastructure complexities increase with the engagement of multiple providers. Irene Pimentel 01 March 2015 Sourcing Trends Read more ... Sourcing Monthly December 2014 – January 2015 Conclusion: This month has seen an increase in executive appointments in ICT companies, as well as 2015 industry forecasts. Most interesting is an expected rise in outsourcing contract renegotiation to $100B, driven in part by a preference for multi-sourced contracts, as it becomes easier to respond to vendor management and governance issues, as well as obtain more stable contractual models. These improvements are expected to reduce difficulties and complexities associated with establishing and maintaining a number of agreements at once while retaining cost benefits multi-sourcing can provide. Irene Pimentel 30 January 2015 Sourcing Trends Read more ... Sourcing Monthly: November 2014 – December 2014 Discussions regarding emerging trends in 2014 and forecasts for 2015 were prominent this month. The need for improved security solutions and cloud offerings have been identified as critical issues that emerged in 2014, with 2015 forecasts focused on increased third-party vendor engagements and expansion of product offerings, delivery models and contractual structures. With large financial investments in outsourcing and the greater demand for business outcome-based contracts it is expected vendors will be altering current approaches to service provision. Irene Pimentel 02 January 2015 Sourcing Trends Read more ... Sourcing Monthly October 2014 – November 2014 This month, the Lufthansa/IBM infrastructure outsourcing agreement, valued at $1.25B was particularly significant. These “big bang” outsourcing agreements have pared back the past few years because of difficulties associated with long-term contracts, such as vendor lock-in and expense, especially when project objectives are not met and client/vendor disagreements arise. Irene Pimentel 04 December 2014 Sourcing Trends Read more ... IT’s Productivity Problem Conclusion: Productivity is one of management’s major objectives. This is generally understood but not always executed. As an enabler of organisational functions and productivity, IT needs a precise understanding of the concept in order to fulfil organisational productivity. Guy Cranswick 04 December 2014 Coaching and Mentoring Sourcing Trends Read more ... Sourcing Monthly September 2014 – October 2014 October has been a great month for ICT outsourcing contracts, with a wide range of agreement types, vendors and buyers representing different industries. Particularly interesting is the high number of smaller providers establishing a real presence in the market. Irene Pimentel 01 November 2014 Sourcing Trends Read more ... What does HP’s split mean to the customer? Conclusion: HP’s split into two companies is more important as a sign of the dramatic changes in the IT infrastructure market than the impact it will have on HP customers. When combined with IBM’s exit from the PC and x86 markets and Dell going private, poor financial results from leaders such as IBM and SAP, it is clear we are in the midst of a major industry transition that is being driven by the forces of Social, Mobile, Analytics, Cloud and Consumerisation (SMACC). Kevin McIsaac 31 October 2014 Sourcing Trends Architecture Read more ... Sourcing Monthly August 2014 – September 2014 New service contract agreements have been prominent the past month, particularly with the Department of Defence. The Department of Defence has traditionally engaged in high volume, high value, complex projects and does invest a lot in IT to support its critical functions. Irene Pimentel 02 October 2014 Sourcing Trends Read more ... How to Avoid Vendor Lock-in Conclusion: In most vendor-client relationships power shifts from the client to the vendor as soon as the deal is signed. As the SMACC (Social, Mobile, Analytics, Cloud and Consumerisation) ecosystem evolves, strategies are emerging that enable power to remain with the client for the duration of the vendor-client relationship. However, this shift in power will only happen if the client actively works to eliminate vendor lock-in strategies. Peter Grant 02 October 2014 Software Asset Management Sourcing Trends Read more ... Sourcing Monthly July 2014 – August 2014 This month there has been a significant increase in senior appointments, restructures, collaboration and purchases in the ICT industry. In particular, service providers are acquiring or partnering with technology vendors to integrate specialised and high quality products with their services. This highlights the demand in the market for access to new and developing technologies and associated services to take advantage of them. In order to stay competitive, service providers have been forced to move beyond basic service provision and include technologies as part of their service offerings. Irene Pimentel 02 October 2014 Sourcing Trends Read more ... Sourcing Monthly June 2014 – July 2014 Discussions regarding unknowns that arise from multi-layered, hybrid and increasingly complex ICT environments have been prevalent this month. There is a recognition that, because of these variables, traditional tools and delivery models are often insufficient to ensure ICT environments function efficiently. Reviews indicate that difficulties can arise because of failures in the implementation of management and operational protocols as well as the critical tools needed to bind the many facets of an ICT environment together, to ensure operational effectiveness which all users can access and understand. For instance, user authentication systems that now require careful consideration and planning are often not feasible as they can require very specific expertise for just one small aspect of a large environment. IBRS Analyst James Turner will be discussing this particular issue in relation to authentication solutions, as well as potential response measures in a webinar to be held on July 31st. Irene Pimentel 29 July 2014 Sourcing Trends Read more ... Balance Stakeholder Forces to drive exceptional Value Conclusion: When it comes to balancing the demands of stakeholders, CIOs are often left with Hobson’s choice1 – give in to demands from their enterprise customers. The alternative (saying no) risks the CIO being labelled a ‘Blocker’. Elite CIOs deal with individual stakeholder demands within an ecosystem of five distinct stakeholder forces, and in doing so drive extraordinary enterprise benefits. Less effective CIOs remain bogged down in a tactical debate focusing on one demand at a time – never really satisfying anyone. Success as a CIO will be defined by how well an agreed balance by these five stake-holder forces will be achieved. Peter Grant 29 July 2014 Coaching and Mentoring Sourcing Trends Read more ... Sourcing Monthly May 2014 - June 2014 This month’s outsourcing deals were especially interesting, showing that the range of services available to outsource and the ways customers are using them has broadened and borders for providers are being eliminated. Vendors are becoming more specialised, as the trend to target outsourced services at particular business functions or objectives, to satisfy customer needs, has emerged. This has resulted in vendors adopting more flexible products, services and delivery models to accommodate a wider range of customers and their varied requirements. This is becoming clearer with potential customers, such as the Department of Health specifically stating it wishes to explore different service models, technologies, IT practices and market capabilities when searching for a new service provider. Irene Pimentel 22 June 2014 Sourcing Trends Read more ... Last Word: To improve Productivity, understand the Business For several months business analysts and government ministers have been telling the public that Australia has to lift its productivity. The urgent call to action has come about because the golden years of mining are stuttering. To fill the gap left by mining, at the same time as the creeping shadow of ageing ‘boomers’ lengthens, productivity has to rise. Companies and individuals are aware of this. Recommendations to improve productivity come in various forms. With technology, it’s in almost every piece of kit offered, from gadgets that squeeze that extra bit of output per hour to a full migration or new stack. In the human resources area it may come as advice to give more time to the work-life balance. Even adding green plants to the workplace has been another means to lift productivity. Guy Cranswick 21 June 2014 Coaching and Mentoring Sourcing Trends Read more ... Sourcing Monthly April 2014 - May 2014 Particularly prominent this month was the high level of new senior appointments and employee rationalisation in the IT industry. This highlights the critical nature of taking into account practical, business issues as well as technological developments to maintain efficiency, competitiveness and targeted service provision for a company’s internal ICT customers, as well as for service providers catering to external clients. Irene Pimentel 23 May 2014 Sourcing Trends Read more ... Sourcing Monthly March 2014 - April 2014 April has been an incredibly strong month for outsourcing engagements. Most interesting is the variety of deals in size and nature as well as the vendor and customer size. It is clear that the momentum in outsourcing is steady accelerating as new technologies are accepted and the skills required to support them evolve and become more readily available. A proliferation of smaller and specialist service providers, new service models, efficiencies and affordable technologies have also resulted in increasing the availability of outsourcing to small-to-medium enterprises wishing to take advantage of new developments. Irene Pimentel 22 April 2014 Sourcing Trends Read more ...