Editor’s Note: Anil Bhalla kicks off Minacs’ 2013 Crystal Ball predictions series by answering a few pointed questions about the future of outsourcing.

Corporations will look to unlock the synergies of combining traditionally outsourced processes with internal departments/functions. They will implement...

Editor’s Note: You can also read the first two of this series here: Big Data 101 and 102

In my previous post, I discussed why Big Data is proving to be a strategic asset in the achievement of business results. Here, I present a quick survey of technologies that help harness Big Data.
Tackling the Big Data challenge to take advantage of the business value that it can provide is going to be a multi-stage process. Most of the new sources of data gathering...

In my previous post, I talked about the complexity and characteristics of Big Data, its rampant growth, the lack of traditional tools to manage it and the emerging technologies at a high level. In this article, let’s explore some of the challenges and opportunities that Big Data presents to businesses with three examples. But first, let’s quickly summarize the challenges it poses.
Executives across industries acknowledge the exponential growth of data. As the data available to an enterprise increases, the amount it can humanly process, understand...

Editor’s Note: To continue with our Crystal Ball 2012 blogs, Sax Krishna, Global Leader, TIME and BFS provides fascinating commentary on the business models, markets, and consumer focus shaping the telecom and technology industries in 2012.

Editor’s Note: To continue with our Crystal Ball 2012 blogs, Scott Shafer, Global Leader, Manufacturing, Strategic Industries, and Minacs Marketing Solutions, shares his views on how business process outsourcers can prepare to meet the demands of the Manufacturing industry in 2012.

Editor’s Note: We hope you’ve been enjoying reading our Crystal Ball 2012 series:

• The first post from Minacs CEO Deepak Patel captured his “take” on developments in outsourcing globally.
• Minacs’ President-APAC, Milind Godbole shared his predictions from the perspective of a veteran outsourcing services practitioner in this post

Here, Anil Bhalla, President-North America & Europe at Minacs offers sharp predictions for technology trends that may be changing business and insights on how they will...

Editor’s Note: Further to our first Crystal Ball 2012 blog by Minacs CEO, Deepak Patel, we continue the series as we step into a new year. Look out for more Minacs leaders sharing thoughts on business trends and the outsourcing industry through 2012. Here, Milind Godbole off the new year with his predictions and what must be done to capitalize on them. My thoughts on what new directions the outsourcing industry will take in 2012 start with an analysis of the overall state of businesses today as driven by the global economy and market forces. In a world of widespread and deep change, customers are at different stages of determining what they need. The outsourcing...

It’s that time of the year again! Everyone is providing projections for the next year and trying to divine what it will mean for the outsourcing business. No one has a crystal ball. However, by listening to our clients and looking closely at industry indicators – the various economic events of the last year (the current European crisis being the latest) and the overall market softness in North America – it becomes a little easier to answer questions like what next? And what are our possible options?

More and more, we are hearing clients asking, “How can you help us be better at our business?” They are no longer asking for just 100% achievements on SLAs, but in fact are clearly looking for business results. Results like agility, productivity and financial impact. At the NASSCOM India Leadership Forum in February, I found McKinsey’s Noshir Kaka sharing data from two surveys they conducted in 2008 and 2010 that provide further insight into this growing trend. These two years are significant in the context of economic shock and the predicted “New Normal”. The surveys showed that different levels of management within outsourcing...

The other thing about the amoeba is that it is surprisingly efficient; to adapt to adverse changes, it can step down gears quickly to remain functional. In much the same way, companies need to be sensitive to subtle/environmental changes (e.g., technology progress and consumer lifestyle changes) in order to be efficient. As an example, let’s talk about a newspaper company. Outsourcing the printing and delivering of newspapers is old news! Today even a process as core as news collection is syndicated, or in other words, outsourced. This is to realize the benefits of aggregating the collection of news – driving cost efficiency. As customer lifestyles change...

They say that the first life form on earth was something similar to an amoeba. In effect, the amoeba has been around for millions of years – a remarkable testimony to its ability to adapt, evolve and survive. Why the amoeba has made it through extreme changes is because it is flexible and agile. Similarly, a business needs agility, and speed to stay on top of the game – through good times and bad. For both industry practitioners and outsourcing solution providers, like us in Minacs, the lessons of the recent downturn have been that the less baggage you carry the faster you are likely to be. And the sooner you recover from setbacks. In the next decade...

Outsourcing of various business activities has been around for years, even centuries. However, its emergence as an organized industry is a phenomenon in the world of business over the last twenty years has provided it the scale and critical mass to drive its continuous evolution. Providers have been constantly looking to deliver services that their clients need to succeed in a globalized, competitive, often fast-changing environment. To the point that outsourcing is no longer about services, but about delivering and, being responsible for, clear business results. Welcome to the world of “business solutions”. This is not a driving trend for just the...

Over the last couple of years, in our interactions with clients, analysts and industry players, we have been seeing a strong movement towards ensuring agility and sustainability in business that is picking up pace. Organizations have recognized that outsourcing provides a valuable and efficient way to sustain, and accelerate business. While they focus on core competencies, they are looking for partners, who truly participate in their business and take ownership for business results. For outsourcing players, this means going beyond the traditional BPO services to offer clients more “complete solutions” that generate clear business value...