Bleum Whitepapers
- Outsourcing to China: Removing the Risk & Maximizing Competitive Advantage
December 2009 As the economic downturn starts to wane and conditions become more favorable, CIOs are moving from a "battening down the hatches" type mentality to one of preparing for growth. Although this seems like good news, many organizations will continue to insist that IT budgets remain relatively flat, while at the same time asking CIOs to deliver more in order to not only maintain, but increase competitive advantage.
One way of achieving these seemingly opposing objectives is to consider the use of, or indeed broaden the use of outsourcing and in particular offshoring as part of the delivery method. China as a major provider of offshored IT services is now considered for this kind of work.
This paper begins with an introduction to the key trends driving the use of outsourcing and more specifically offshoring and discusses the drivers and inhibitors for choosing China as the offshoring destination.
Eight common negative perceptions about the risks of doing business with Chinese IT Service providers are then explored, including those relating to cultural differences, language, access to skilled resources, quality and intellectual property. Recommendations include tips for effectively engaging with Chinese outsourcers including how to select a Chinese IT Services provider with the aim of mitigating these eight risks via a vendor evaluation framework, checklist and scorecard.- Synopsis
- Introduction
- The Outsourcing Motivation and Alignment with Organizational Needs
- Why do Firms Offshore?
- Why do Firms Outsource or Offshore to China?
- The Outsourcing/Offshoring Decision Process in Summary
- Best Practices for Productive Engagement with Chinese Outsourcers
- Chinese IT Services Providers Evaluation Against 8 Perceived Risk Factors
- Summary of Recommendations
- Conclusion
- Outsourcing IP? Preventing IP Infringement in China
October 2009 Since the publication of our last Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) paper in 2006, a number of changes have been made in China to further improve international IP protection, and the Patent Law has now undergone a third revision and the amended Patent Law will come into effect on October 1st , 2009. Although enforcement of IP laws continues to be a challenge, this is gradually improving along with the laws themselves. The concept of IP ownership is steadily becoming a part of Chinese culture.
As interest in doing business in China grows, what is the best way for companies to protect their IP in China? This paper will discuss recent progress the Chinese government has made with regards to IP, the importance of patenting in China and how companies can protect their IP when outsourcing development work to China.- Executive Summary
- IP Protection Update
- Register Your Patents
- Proactive Piracy Prevention Strategy
- Conclusion
- India + One: Why China Should Be Your "Plus One" for IT Services
March 2009 With recent terrorist events in India and more alarmingly Satyam's financial fraud scandal, there is a renewed emphasis on governance and risk management within the IT outsourcing community. In an October 2008 article called "Sourcing in the Shadow of Terrorism," Forrester Analysts Sudin Apte and John C. McCarthy recommend firms with Indian IT and BPO vendors explore an "India Plus One" strategy to ensure some level of geographic risk diversification1. This paper will examine the characteristics of five popular alternative IT geographic locations to India and suggest what you should look for in a vendor outside of India.- Executive Summary
- Comparison of 5 Alternative IT Geographies
- What to Look for In an Alternative Destination Vendor
- Conclusion
- Testing Beyond Technology: How to Maximize Testing Productivity
December 2008 In today's environment of increased consumer expectations, plummeting cycle times and intense global competition, testing has become a critical component of technological and business success. How can businesses accurately anticipate issues with testing environments and automated products, keep up with the explosive pace of web-enabled deployment and retain satisfactory test coverage while reducing risks?- Executive Summary
- Issues with Testing Environments
- Issues with Testing Automation Products
- The Solution: Maximize Testing Productivity
- Conclusion
- Measuring the Success of Testing Teams: Establishing Metrics for Offshore Testing
May 2008As the market for outsourced software testing matures, customers are seeking greater cost savings and accountability from their offshore partners. Agreeing on clearly defined metrics in the initial stages of the engagement will provide a framework for both the customer and vendor to strive for a successful relationship. This paper defines two sets of metrics for measuring the success of an offshore testing partnership. One focuses on measuring the success of an entire offshore testing team, while the other highlights the metrics that define the readiness of a project to be released.- Executive Summary
- Background
- Project Metrics
- ODC Metrics
- Conclusion
- Managing a Talent Pool Spoilt for Choice - Attracting, Growing and Retaining Staff in China
September 2006As the competition for critical talent heats up in China, organizations need to re-thing the ways in which they attract, retain and grow talent. This paper provides a number of interesting strategies on how IT outsourcing companies based in China can effectively compete against large global and well-known CHINESE companies in the war for talent.- Background
- Competitive environment
- The size of the talent pool
- Attrition - why?
- Today's young CHINESE consumers
- Tapping into motivators
- Conclusion
- Sources
- How To Do It Right - Setting Up An Offshore Development Center
May 2006As offshore outsourcing plays an increasingly strategic role in a company's operating model, and as offshore vendors have become more closely integrated within an industry's value chain, companies are establishing more strategic relationships with their vendors. Setting up an ODC (Offshore Development Center) is one of the operating models used in these strategic partnerships. This paper will describe what an ODC is, what the benefits are to an organization of the ODC model and due diligence required when setting up a ODC with a supplier organization.- Executive Summary
- Background
- Benefits of an ODC
- Guidelines for Vendor Selection
- ODC Set Up
- Critical to Success
- Sources
- IP Protection in China: From An Outsourcing Perspective
February 2006IP Protection is one of the key concerns executives have when considering outsourcing to China. An intelligent and well executed strategy in IP protection can reap enormous benefits. The strategy can be centered around three key pillars: selection of the proper offshore model, due diligence on offshore providers ' internal IP protection policies and systems and strict vendor selection guidelines. Achieving the right mix of operational, cultural, and legal considerations is difficult, but companies that understand these aspects are more likely to be successful in China. This white paper provides insights on how to protect your firm's intellectual property when outsourcing IT services to China.- Executive Summary
- Litigation Is No Substitute for Strategy
- Choosing the Right Offshore Model
- Selecting the Safe Outsourcing Vendor
- Sources
- Why Outsource to China?
November 2005China is fast emerging as one of the world's leading suppliers of offshore IT outsourcing services. While India is the uncontested leader of offshore outsourcing globally today, China is quickly closing the gap and is the best alternative for large scale, high quality development services. "China is the hotspot right now, obviously for its enormous market opportunity." says Yankee Group analyst Laura DiDio. "If you 're a technology company and you 're not thinking about China, then you 're already behind." This paper will look at the market forces driving buyers to look at China, the advantages China outsourcing offers as well as the challenges China faces supplying outsourcing services to the Western world.- Why China?
- India is Overheating Now
- Challenges for China
- The long Term Outlook
- Case Study
- Sources
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