https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/rss en-us Even as CIOs enter their third generation of IT services deals, misconceptions persist about the practice of IT outsourcing. Worse, new illusions have begun to emerge as outsourcing approaches have evolved. Achieving desired outcomes when working with third-party providers depends on clear-eyed understanding of... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/5020 Mon, 02 Apr 2018 06:29:45 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/5020-11-outsourcing-myths-debunked As IT organizations become more strategic, so too do their partnerships with IT outsourcing providers. Digital transformation, automation, and the data revolution are not just shaking up how IT operates, they are greatly impacting the kind - and quality - of services under contract with IT outsourcing firms. Here is a look at the... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/4411 Tue, 01 Aug 2017 12:49:49 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/4411-7-hot-it-outsourcing-trends-and-7-going-cold While the IT and business process services industry continued to grow through 2016, that growth slowed over the course of the year and could fall to less than 2 percent by 2019, according to a recent report from IT and business sourcing consultancy and research firm Everest Group. The pace of year-on-year revenue growth fell from... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/4009 Tue, 21 Mar 2017 11:37:34 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/4009-slow-growth-ahead-for-it-outsourcing When Donald Trump takes to Twitter, some companies shudder. This week, Ford Motor Co. said it would scrap a $1.6 billion plant in Mexico in favor of expanding an existing one in Michigan. That happened on the same day the president-elect tweeted criticism of General Motors for manufacturing its Chevy Cruze vehicles in Mexico. GM says... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/3805 Wed, 18 Jan 2017 08:27:52 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/3805-u-s-manufacturers-brace-for-trump-s-next-trade-targets Trump In Plant Of American micro and small businesses that sell on eBay, 97 percent export. Small online sellers are the new face of world trade. Export credit agencies must learn to support them, writes Kati Suominen, founder and chairwoman of the Trade Capital Fund. A glance at global trade flows reveals a stunning fact:... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/3626 Mon, 07 Nov 2016 10:49:16 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/3626-here-s-what-we-really-should-be-debating-when-it-comes-to-trade People are finally waking up to the fact that freelancing is a better option than fighting the daily 9-to-5 rat race. The flexibility, independence and opportunity to make more money are just a couple of reasons why people are opting to become freelancers. But... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/3463 Mon, 19 Sep 2016 09:51:36 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/3463-25-fastest-growing-freelance-skills I have read and heard a lot about 3D printing over the last two years, but it wasn't until I visited Jabil's Blue Sky Center in San Jose, California, that I realized how 3D Printing is driving the transformation of digital manufacturing. 3D Printing accelerates the process from ideation to production. The traditional approach to... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/3279 Fri, 20 May 2016 10:27:18 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/3279-3d-printing-is-transforming-manufacturing For the fourth consecutive year, reshoring of manufacturing operations to the United States in 2015 failed to keep up with continued offshoring of factory output. In fact, an index compiled by A.T. Kearney showed the largest year-over-year decrease in reshoring-vs.-offshoring in the last 10 years. As 2016 dawns,... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/3061 Mon, 25 Jan 2016 10:05:15 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/3061-reshoring-is-slowing-down-but-moves-into-the-u-s-by-non-u-s-companies-are-growing Outsourcing contact centers seems to be a norm in businesses regardless of industry. But as we are all aware, outsourcing your calling agents can lead to some trade-offs. That's where the possibility of an in-house contact center comes in. An in-house contact center can... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/2672 Tue, 15 Sep 2015 11:21:24 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/2672-featured-resource-how-to-set-up-an-in-house-contact-center "As if managing complex technology projects wasn't difficult enough, outsourcing can create numerous stresses you likely have not experienced when using a primarily or exclusively internal team," says Tom Fountain, CTO of... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/2623 Fri, 04 Sep 2015 11:19:41 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/2623-8-tips-for-managing-outsourced-projects To implement reforms or not - that is the tough question currently facing China's leadership The times are changing. China's economy grew at an annual rate of 7.3% in the third quarter of this year, its slowest pace since the global crisis five years ago, as a slump in its property sector decimated domestic demand and industrial production. Despite signs that the economy will fall short of the annual growth target of 7.5%, top leaders have refrained from unleashing the type of massive stimulus they used to fend off recession in 2009. Some expect... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1988 Tue, 06 Jan 2015 10:28:26 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1988-how-china-s-economy-can-weather-a-long-slow-fall China Currency What if I told you that there was a secret super power lurking in out-of-the-way places across America? A foundational technology so profound that it came into use more than 30,000 years ago as a method of providing shelter, protecting us from the elements, helping us express our dreams, share across cultures, build economic might, and even contribute to the invention of computing itself. What if I told you that we used to be the leaders of the world in exploring the boundaries of its potential but that now we export 95% of that work to other regions? What is this mostly invisible, largely forgotten or written off part of our economy that used to provide more than one in ten jobs in the USA? And more importantly, how can we turn it back into a super power as we head into the 21 century and reweave the fabric of our economy?... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1930 Thu, 11 Dec 2014 05:55:05 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1930-warp-and-weft Dramatic shifts in cost competitiveness around the world over the past decade are starting to spur a number of companies to change their global sourcing and manufacturing investment strategies, according to a new report by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The report, titled The Shifting Economics of Global Manufacturing: How Cost Competitiveness Is Changing Worldwide, is being released today. Global automakers are expanding production in the UK, for example, which has emerged as one of Western Europe's lowest-cost manufacturing locations, while at the same time they are slashing capacity in Australia, now one of the most expensive. In Mexico,... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1851 Mon, 24 Nov 2014 07:04:57 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1851-dramatic-shifts-in-manufacturing-costs-are-driving-companies-to-change-their-global-production-strategies Too few corporate leaders are thinking about how the next generation of robotics will affect their workforce, operations, business models, and competitive position, experts say. The rise of robotics is gaining traction much faster than most executives realize and will have a major impact on the competitiveness of companies and countries alike, according to new research by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Spending on robots worldwide is expected to... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1815 Wed, 12 Nov 2014 06:32:29 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1815-rise-of-the-machines-bcg-projects-67-billion-market-for-robots-by-2025 A growing number of US companies are set to save hundreds of millions of dollars in tax by relocating to Europe after completing takeovers of Europeon firm, according to a report in the Financial Times. Some of the biggest mergers and acquisitions so far in 2013 have involved so-called "tax inversions" - where a US acquirer shifts overseas, to Europe in particular, to pay a lower rate. These deals have come at a time when politicians in Washington have been increasing their calls for corporate tax reform. The FT report went further in detailing companies making use of tax inversion:... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1418 Mon, 09 Jun 2014 11:42:53 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1418-tax-inversion-one-way-to-lower-one-s-corporate-tax-without-waiting-for-washington Last month, China witnessed an historic moment - but not one that's an obvious cause for celebration. When it failed to meet interest payments on its bonds, Shanghai Chaori Solar Energy became China's first domestic corporate bond default. Soon after, Shanxi Haixin Iron and Steel Group Co., Ltd., defaulted on bank loans. The defaults should not have come as a surprise, since both companies operate in industries suffering from overcapacity. But in a country where the government often steps in to keep economic enterprises in key sectors afloat,... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1414 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 11:47:53 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1414-china-s-ticking-debt-bomb When employers aren't sure whether they should classify people as independent contractors (ICs) or full-time employees, asking IRS is a smart move... but it may take a while for the feds to get back to you. As finance pros know, when there's a question about a person's classification status, its prudent to fill out a Form SS-8. Problem is, IRS is a bit backed up with Form SS-8 employee classification requests at the moment... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1411 Fri, 06 Jun 2014 09:09:36 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1411-need-irs-contractor-help-don-t-expect-a-quick-response Which Way Microsoft will begin nagging customers of April 8 end-of-support with on-screen messages. Reacting to criticism from customers that upgrading from Windows XP was "impossible," Microsoft today announced it would give away a limited migration tool to help people move to a newer operating system. The tool,... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1209 Fri, 07 Mar 2014 09:07:06 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1209-update-microsoft-reacts-to-xp-upgrade-critics-with-free-file-transfer-tool As we reflect on the lessons learned through the data boom of 2013, we anticipate that in the coming year continued data growth will force enterprise organizations to rethink how to securely capture, store and retrieve data to derive more value from it. The amount of information being created by Internet-enabled devices and an increase in the number of business-critical applications being virtualized will contribute to this growth and... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1195 Thu, 06 Mar 2014 06:18:41 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1195-executive-viewpoint-2014-prediction-what-s-next-for-the-cloud-in-2014-and-beyond-the-key-word-is The effect of today's technology on tomorrow's jobs will be immense-and no country is ready for it. INNOVATION, the elixir of progress, has always cost people their jobs. In the Industrial Revolution artisan weavers were swept aside by the mechanical loom. Over the past 30 years the digital revolution has displaced many of the mid-skill jobs that underpinned 20th-century middle-class life. Typists, ticket agents, bank tellers and many production-line jobs have been dispensed with, just as the weavers were. For those,... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1185 Thu, 27 Feb 2014 11:16:49 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1185-coming-to-an-office-near-you Workplace Twister Conventional wisdom and common sense suggest that the greatest ongoing expense for most companies is labor. Keeping labor costs in line will maintain or even boost profitability, so that management fable goes. But more and more companies are concentrating an increasing portion of spend on thirdï؟½party suppliers this "virtualizing" their operation rather than struggling with internal labor and physical overhead. This forces leaders to reï؟½think what it means to be a "company." As any number of headlines will attest,... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1074 Mon, 02 Dec 2013 17:31:05 -0500 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1074-doni-t-prepare-the-pink-slips-just-yet This year, through primary research through my company and secondary research by a variety of trusted sources, I've tracked ten major workplace trends affecting the world of work. They focus on the generational shift, the rise of freelancing, the skills gap and more. From a professional perspective, understanding these trends will give you the leg up as you make career choices. From the corporate perspective, these trends will help you make... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1006 Thu, 24 Oct 2013 12:55:52 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/1006-the-top-10-workplace-trends-of-2013 Top 10 Workplace Trends of 2013 Bad habits are tough to break as you grow as a leader. As a young leader, I always felt I had to do everything in-house. Every penny mattered, so even if our attempt was half-assed, we were doing it ourselves. Realizing that you can't do everything internally - and that it's better to hire outside resources - is a hard truth to take in. If you need to feel better about your decision... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/922 Tue, 24 Sep 2013 06:21:37 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/922-8-reasons-you-shouldn-t-do-everything-internally Outsourcing Just because someone has the words "IT consultant" printed on a business card doesn't mean he can solve your particular technology challenge or will work well with your IT or management team. So how do you find the right IT consultant, someone who understands your business and can address your specific IT need(s)? So before you even think about giving a third party access to your critical or sensitive information systems or software... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/829 Mon, 12 Aug 2013 06:14:01 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/829-what-to-look-for-when-hiring-an-it-consultant Sending factory work over to Asia has become so often a recommended strategy over the years that outsourcing now spurs a knee-jerk reaction in many entrepreneurs. Want to make something? Call China. And yet, it can make a great deal of sense to run manufacturing in the U.S. Ironically, one proponent is... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/815 Mon, 05 Aug 2013 05:30:04 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/815-outsourcing-is-overrated Last week LinkedIn reported amazing financials (stock jumped almost 20% in one day). The company reported 105% YTY growth in quarterly revenues to $167.7 Million, putting the company on a 2012 plan of $860 Million. But the real story is the huge jump in revenues from LinkedIn's recruiting services ("Hiring Solutions"). Revenues in this segment... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/769 Thu, 18 Jul 2013 23:42:02 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/769-linkedin-is-disrupting-the-corporate-recruiting-market When I started in HR, it was understood that you were going to work with people. You expected to get good at calming angry people down, listening to them share their problems, and untangling thorny interpersonal issues. That sort of thing went with the territory in the quaint 1980s. After all, the HR department has "human" in its name. How could anyone... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/767 Thu, 18 Jul 2013 02:08:39 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/767-getting-hr-back-into-the-people-business The corporate recruiting market just gets hotter and hotter. We just returned from a two week tour through Europe and attended the iRecruit conference in Amsterdam, where we had the opportunity to talk with dozens of top recruiting managers. Here are the 9 hottest... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/760 Thu, 18 Jul 2013 00:46:37 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/760-the-9-hottest-trends-in-corporate-recruiting Forget about designing your website for mobile devices. Instead, design your website for all devices, from tiny phones to huge living room flat-screens. "Nearly every business needs to adapt to reach consumers effectively on any screen," says Janine Warner. "There are two basic strategies for building websites that display well on all devices:..." http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/724 Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:24:08 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/724-how-to-make-your-website-more-mobile-friendly "All the world's a stage; and all the men and women merely players," wrote Shakespeare, implying that people are driven largely by the turns and whirls of the time and place in which they live. That's true of chief information officers. Their role is often defined by the dominant technology and business strategy of the day as much as by their own drive and talent. Back in what must seem like Shakespeare's time to the Twitter generation... http://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/723 Mon, 17 Jun 2013 06:16:25 -0400 https://www.businesswatchnetwork.com/articles/723-the-new-role-of-the-cio