Whenever a company chooses to outsource, there is a certain relinquishment of control. It is simply neither possible nor desirable to hold tightly to the reins of all aspects of an outsourced project. It stands to reason, therefore, that studies in the industry have revealed that many in IT management either are dissatisfied with their outsourcers or feel their outsourcers have “made up” work to pad their billings. Things become even more problematic when the outsourced project has an off-shored element. Often, cultural differences and distance contribute to increasing both the risks and management costs. Eventually, the risks wipe out the potential increase in benefits. All of this comes back … Read More
Category Archives: Outsourced Software
IT Outsourcing: Do You Know Where Your Software Is?
Outsourcing is not exactly a new idea. As far back as the 1950’s, companies that found they didn’t have the resources in-house to perform tasks began looking to other individuals and companies to fulfill their needs. It wasn’t until the late 80’s that outsourcing really began to take off as companies turned to “offshoring” of outsourced projects to countries such as China and India in order to take advantage of the savings in labor costs. As the 90’s gave way to the 00’s, the U.S. economy faltered and unemployment skyrocketed. Nevertheless, U.S. software corporations continued to see significant value in outsourcing projects to Europe and Asia. In fact, they saw … Read More
Effort is Precious
There’s a big bias towards skill in our culture — smart and creative trumps hard work and grinding it out day after day. We come to rely on our skills and often think too much of them. Studies have shown that most successful people over-rate the part that skill and creativity play in their success. As for me, it’s been all about being the right place at the right time. Sheer luck and accident. But what about effort? What about the joy of working hard, grinding it out? It can be very valuable. Especially when no one can — or is willing — to match that effort. A few weeks … Read More