Outsourcing
Meta Group, 10/2/02: How Do I Value IT Outsourcing Services?
· Using Benchmarks to Control Costs and Improve ROI right type of benchmark for me?
· What level of benchmark should I be using — full, indicative, market overview?
· How do I leverage benchmarking to get a better deal without destroying the relationship with my outsourcing partner?
· What comes after benchmarking?
· Outsourcing contract benchmarking clauses (what works and what doesn’t)
· Selecting the appropriate benchmark
· Debunking the business myths of measurement
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Meta Group, 9/30/02: Utility Outsourcing: Endemic Rhetoric, Hopeful Reality
A though the concept (and rhetoric)of utility outsourcing is becoming pervasive, the market is years from mainstream availabilit0079. Current market offerings with variable pricing are an early step toward utility services and will be followed by changes in vendor pricing and selling models, vendor “value propositions,” and industrywide development of computing standards. Moreover, the core of the outsourcing industry will shift from infrastructure to applications (2003/04)and to processes (front office,back office,and business processes)through 2007/08.
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Meta Group, 10/1/02: How Do I Evaluate Vendors in a Utility Outsourcing World?
· Will outsourcing really impact nearly every IT organization?
· What is utility outsourcing, and how does it apply to me?
· Can vendors objectively assess my application portfolio?
· Do domestic vendors provide access to offshore resources?
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Gartner, 9/27/02: Untapped Market Potential Exists for IT Services Outsourcing
Although the overall IT services market has slowed considerably since the hyperactive e-business period of the late 1990s, one sector has been relatively stable and maintained its steady state value proposition —outsourcing. In Gartner Dataquest IT services forecasts, outsourcing is composed primarily of IT management services and business process and transaction management services. These have proved to be the one bright spot in the IT services market because it offers a compelling business value proposition for enterprises as a means to gain operational efficiency, focus on core expertise, improve efficiencies, and potentially reduce IT costs. The predictability of the outsourcing value proposition has led many to repeat the familiar saying: Outsourcing is "good in good times, good in bad times." Some observers might add, "almost as good" (in bad times), since even outsourcers have reported different buying behavior in outsourcing today, with lengthened sales cycles and delayed decisions.
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Support / Help Desk
Giga, 9/30/02: IT Trends 2003: Customer Service and Help Desk
John Ragsdale
Many companies hit by the United States economic recession have moved beyond cost containment to downsizing and reorganization. Support organizations, both internal and external, must continue to support customers with fewer resources. Companies are launching aggressive self-service initiatives to augment dwindling support budgets and the scope of e-service is evolving as best-of-breed and niche players adopt new and broader product visions to battle e-ervice offerings from enterprise customer relationship management (CRM) vendors.
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Giga, 9/30/02: BMC’s Acquisition of Remedy Provides Financial Viability for the Popular Support Software Vendor
John Ragsdale
BMC Software’s $350 million offer for Peregrine’s Remedy division may be the best news existing Remedy customers have had since Peregrine acquired Remedy in 2001. With zero overlap between the BMC and Remedy product lines there is little chance of any forced product migration or complex architectural shifts for Remedy customers. Peregrine’s continued fight for survival would have ultimately impacted Remedy’s ability to deliver products and support customers (the Remedy division had so far been exempt from Peregrine downsizing), so BMC’s acquisition brings stability and financial viability to the popular support software vendor.
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Microsoft
IDC, 10/1/02: Is Unscheduled Win XP Update in the Works?
Microsoft says no, but analysts expect customers will press for an update under subscription licenses.
Matt Berger, IDG News Service
Microsoft will slip out an interim desktop version of Windows before 2004 under pressure from some customers who signed up for its licensing plans, several analysts predict.
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TechWeb, 10/2/02: Are Your Word Documents Bugged?
By A. Lizard
Microsoft Word is probably the single most common application on Windows desktops. And IT managers are aware it's been a frequent target of malevolent macros and document viruses over the years. But what most people don't know is just how vulnerable it can be.
Anyone who saves a Word document has a potentially new security risk to consider—one that no current anti-virus or Trojan-scanner will turn up either. The contents of files on your employees' hard drives can be copied and sent outside your firewall without their even knowing.
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