Numerous commentators have commented how the outsourcing industry is set to benefit from the downturn. However, one of the issues that concerns me, is that given the significant capital investments and transition costs involved in undertaking an large scale IT outsourcing programme for the first time, will organisations, especially given the credit crunch, seek longer [...]

Since the start of the problems in the banking sector (let’s not go into how far back that goes), there has been a resultant push for more regulation to offset reoccurrences of the problem in all industries. The senior management in many companies will nowadays see regulatory risk alongside financial risk as the two key [...]

Clients are always asking their suppliers to help them to minimise the risk in their business and improve their return on investment. In recession, this is an even clearer requirement as organisations look to deliver business benefits quickly, whether they be through new products, increased sales or reduced costs. Whilst timing is always of the [...]

Surviving and thriving through a downturn is as much about capturing a bigger slice of a shrinking market as it is about cutting costs, so focusing on customer service is key. But you won’t know what customers really want from you unless you listen and engage openly.
Traditionally, you might use market research to do this, [...]

Do hard times mean more outsourcing? The argument put forward by the industry is that as the combined effect of the credit crunch and recession bite and organisations become increasingly desperate to get as much cost off their books as quickly as possible and so turn to outsourcing.
This, of course, raises some serious issues about [...]

Given the current economic environment, there are mixed feelings about whether more organisations will embrace outsourcing and whether the traditional rationale and business models for outsourcing are changing.
In a world where we have continuing overcapacity, increasing globalisation, the commoditisation of some services, the emergence of new technologies and what appears to be a prolonged depressing [...]

As an intrepid law student and subsequently a Barrister in England, I recall how one man’s name always reverberated more than any other in the field of law. That of Lord Denning.  The other day I was reminded of a now infamous quote by Lord Denning who was one of the foremost thought-leaders and member [...]

So what do IT, Sarbanes-Oxley (Sox) and the economic crash have in common?
The answer is to be found in deep assumptions leaders in government and business make about the extent to which people can be regulated.  Let’s start with Sox.  The Bush administration passed Sox legislation in the wake of Enron and Andersen scandal.  Senior [...]

Now that we’ve all just about dusted ourselves down from the Christmas holidays and returned to work it’s that time of year when the crystal ball comes out for the year ahead. It’s a task made all the more difficult this year because we’re in the worst economic downturn many of us have experienced in [...]