Big Blue Overtakes MS-- shows a trend

You must have already read/heard the news that the Big Blue has overtaken Microsoft and become the 2^nd most valuable company across the globe. What an achievement for the company that was at the brink of closing down! And to become bigger and better than Microsoft which was in fact worth more than 3 times of IBM in 2000 is an applause worthy achievement.

Propelled by new growth areas and focus on services market, IBM kept on growing. In fact, as you all must be aware of, IBM Chief Executive Officer Sam Palmisano divested the company's PC business six years ago and decided to invest in software and services.

I do see a trend building here. The move is definitely from the boxes to services. There seems to be a paradigm shift from the personal computers to services and software. Along with IBM, many companies have divested its PC business to join the services bandwagon. The recent major company to move away from its PC business is HP, which was earlier a major player in the PC business.


The need for the hardware would always be there, but the reliance on it would become less. With companies further moving into virtualization and cloud, the demand for the hardware would drop.

But let me be clear on one point, I am not advising you to move away from hardware. I am a firm supporter of the hardware segment, and believe it to be an important segment of the IT industry. Just look at Apple—it’s the most valuable company.

My advice would be to ask you to find a synergy between your hardware, software and services segment. And that’s what the new age businesses would be looking for.

Do feel free to share your views on it!

Outsourcing -- 10 Steps to maximize

Outsourcing is an integral part of the IT process and many companies adopt it to bring efficiency and cut cost. Hence, it is extremely important for the companies to know and understand what they need to do and implement so as to get the maximum benefit out of outsourcing. With the industry seemingly on the verge of another recession, outsourcing is getting a strong shot on its arm. CIOs, IT leaders and sourcing managers are on the lookout for means and ways they need to follow to in order to get more from outsourcing. 

And help comes at the right time!! Gartner has identified 10 key steps in the sourcing strategy phase which looks like sure winners. So do the following to maximize your benefits from outsourcing:
1. Set context and objectives
2. Assess service delivery 'as is': Assess the organization's current internal and external capabilities.
3. Assess service and multisourcing management capability: Determine the level, position and maturity of the 10 multisourcing competencies within the organization to determine current and required capabilities.
4. Evaluate constraints and opportunities
5. Analyze gaps
6. Analyze external market
7. Conduct scenario planning: Compare the risk and potential value of different sourcing scenarios or models in terms of the organization's requirements and potential direction. Assess 'softer' issues, such as the fit of the sourcing solution to business objectives and
8. Analyze risks
9. Develop business case
10. Construct action plan

It’s imperative for companies to adopt best practices and follow steps that enable them to get the most out of outsourcing. And I see the outsourcing market grow at a fast pace, and it will be great for the Indian IT companies. You might ask why now? I would say because now is the opportune moment. The US and European markets are on a downturn and looking for ways to cut cost but still make profit, hence they are looking to outsource.






Do feel free to share your thoughts!!