Stan Gibson

It doesnt matter who you talk to. theres an unmistakable bearishness about the careers of IT professionals these days. Even people who disagree on the most fundamental premises of IT agree that the job of IT pro aint what it used to be. But more significant, they predict that it will never again be what […]

To most Americans, the French outsourcing market is an unknown world. But if you work for a company with global operations, chances are some of those operations are in France, and you therefore are likely to need, at some point, an outsourcing provider in France—vous voilà! While in France on vacation recently, I learned as […]

Choice matters. no one knows that more than companies that choose to outsource their IT operations. To maximize the benefits of choice, companies that outsource are increasingly electing to sign deals with multiple providers simultaneously in a process called multisourcing. But finding the right providers for different parts of IT operations, whether its the data […]

Sound outsourcing management—always critical to success—is multiplied in importance when several outsourcing partners are chosen. Here are some best practices for managing multiple outsourcers: Market forces matter, but relationships are still important. Dealing with multiple outsourcers with the goal of reducing outsourcing services to the level of commodities might appear to be a valid cost-cutting […]

If you think that pressure on IT budgets is sure to lift soon, think again. The forces creating that cost pressure are likely to prevail for some time—say, a decade. So says Perot Systems Chairman of Consulting and author James Champy, who is working on a new book focusing on how businesses should operate during […]

You want to outsource because you dont want to deal with the huge initial expense of building your own IT staff and infrastructure. And yet, even outsourcing has its startup costs. If youre not careful, you could still get stuck with a hefty upfront bill. Enter services financing. Its a way to tie your payments […]

Russian society is ready to make a breakthrough. The high level of education and the potential of our science enable us to take our place in the post-industrial economy,” former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev told a gathering of some 1,000 at the Massachusetts Software Council meeting in Boston last week. Gorbachev came down firmly […]

BOSTON—Delivering a sales pitch for Russian software development, former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev addressed a gathering of Massachusetts software industry executives here Tuesday. “Russian society is ready to make a breakthrough. The high level of education and the potential of our science enable us to take our place in the post-industrial economy,” said the […]

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act has been on the books for nearly three years, but the fun is only beginning. As U.S. attorneys begin to prosecute companies—and corporate officers—for noncompliance, well learn a lot more about just what this landmark law is made of, including what impact it will have on outsourcing relationships. If youve inked an […]

Say the word “outsourcing” in a crowded room, and youll kindle opinions and heated passions. Say the word “offshoring,” and youll pour gasoline onto the fire. Most people have made up their minds about these topics and arent open to different points of view. Some people think outsourcing is a wonder of a free-market economy; […]

With IBMs planned sale of its PC manufacturing unit to Lenovo, of China, the role of PCs at IBM is undergoing change. And as with many things at IBM, services are supplanting hardware in importance. IBM recently announced tweaks to its “PCs as a service” offerings so that a customer can choose from a menu […]

The New England Patriots have climbed to the top of the National Football League and remained there through dedication to the concept of team. Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick is famous for using his entire roster in every game, including calling on players such as Troy Brown and Mike Vrabel to take on difficult roles […]