Our client Pana.ma just launched “Voice Messenger”, the world’s first integrated voice and texting service. Free-of-charge, Voice Messenger enhances traditional texting because users can now seamlessly add their voice to text conversations for simple convenience or when emotion and meaning cannot be conveyed by text alone. Because Voice Messenger is just like texting, Pana.ma is simple and intuitive for anyone to use. [Read more]

Personal, Technical | No Comments »

Most would agree today that lifetime employment belongs to history.

But it seems that the concept of employment itself is coming under fire, at least in the microcosm I know better: the small to mid size businesses (SMBs).

Non-core functions like HR, accounting or legal services have traditionally been outsourced. However, and until very recently, a vast majority of companies would make sure their core functions be handled by full-time employees. [Read more]

Business | 5 Comments »

Venture capitalists seldom invest in software start-ups nowadays, especially if their product relates to WEB 2.0, social networks, or other online businesses. They first want to see (i) an initial product financed by the founders and (ii) some market traction. Market traction clearly means revenue; a sizable number of free users/subscribers is not recognized as market traction anymore.

It might not be that bad after all. We are back to a more traditional business model where entrepreneurs have to contribute their own savings, and turn to business angels, incubators or friends and family to complete their initial round of funding. [Read more]

Business, Technical | 2 Comments »

Time magazine’s recent list of the 100 world’s most influential people includes Nandan Nilekani.

The Indian outsourcing industry has been getting a lot of bad press recently, especially after Ramalinga Raju admitted having inflated Satyam’s profits by around $1 billion.

Nilekani is a co-founder and former CEO of outsourcing giant Infosys.

He is one of the key visionaries of the Indian IT industry, whose remarkable vision and ability to deliver have enabled the Indian industry to grow from traditional software outsourcing to business process outsourcing and finally to global solution delivery. It is for people like Nilekani that the Indian major players are now challenging IBM, Accenture and HP.

That said, most of the small to mid size Indian companies are left behind, living on an outdated model defined in the 80’s. They are the companies that largely contribute to the growing bad press Indian suppliers are getting in the IT world.

New leaders need to rise up and provide these many small providers with a revivified vision for the role they can play on an outsourcing market that has become increasingly global, with countries fancying a better infrastructure, a similarly vast pool of talents, lower attrition rates, and lower prices.

Some food for thoughts for NASSCOM, the National association of Indian outsourcing industry, a prominent body co-founded by … Nandan Nilekani.

Remi
www.vsisoft.com

Business | No Comments »

I just finished Robert Kennedy’s ”The Services Shift”, a book on the globalization of services, with an emphasis on Information Technology.

Kennedy is a Professor at Michigan’s Ross School of Business. He also runs the William Davidson Institute — a fairly prominent think-tank that focuses on business and policy issues in developing countries.

This book is a goldmine:

• IT managers will find very detailed and clear information on what, when, where and how to offshore
• Outsourcing vendors will find relevant and not-so-well-known information on industry trends.

But hold on, there is more. Because the book goes far beyond the technicalities of services offshoring, literally everybody would benefit tremendously from reading its sections 1, 2, 6, and 7.

In fact, if you think the book is of no concern to you, consider one mind-blowing statistics shown in it: in the USA, services represent a staggering 83% of the country’s GDP.

The author managed to stay away from politics and partisanship. The book carries nothing like Lou Dobbs’ low-level propaganda or Thomas Friedman’s provocative views.

Kennedy sticks to the facts, and demonstrates brilliantly why the globalization of services is an unstoppable trend, at least for any foreseeable future.

Consider “The Services Shift” a wake up call. A new economy has emerged, and it is a global one. Liking or disliking this global order we have created is everyone’s prerogative, ignoring it is just not possible anymore, whatever our role in our society is.

The price to pay for the US to retain global leadership is to acknowledge this situation, accelerate innovation, create disruptive business models, and more importantly prepare our children to live in a world that will be changing at an always faster pace.

I will definitely elaborate on some parts of this book in future posts. In the meantime, do yourself a favor: read it!

Purchase the book on Amazon.com

Remi
www.vsisoft.com

Business | No Comments »

Outsourcing vendors often use “blended rates” to calculate the monthly / quarterly amounts due by their customers. Simply put, the blended rate is an hourly rate that applies to any single team member, regardless of seniority, from the less experienced developer to the most senior manager, with the possible exception of the top management.

Beware! [Read more]

Business | 1 Comment »

Bringing jobs back home is a hot topic nowadays. While offshore is here to stay, no matter what, it certainly does not mean we should support any type and form of offshoring.

Going offshore to circumvent shortage of local talents, insufficient infrastructure, or to accompany International expansion are certainly valid reasons. It becomes highly debatable when going offshore is only dictated by the search of maximizing corporate profit. [Read more]

Business | 3 Comments »

A critical phase of appointing a new offshore provider or renewing an existing contract is to get the best price possible.

However, I often noticed that potential customers are trying to go far off limits when it comes to prices. I think this is plain wrong, as too much bargain is very likely to backfire on them.

The worst part of the story is that there are always some vendors willing to accept any conditions to get a contract. [Read more].

Business | 2 Comments »