Archive for category Globalization
Webinar: Rise of the Project Workforce, October 18
Posted by Rudolf Melik - Project Management Software Blog in Globalization, project management, workforce management on October 10th, 2007
The Rise of the Project Workforce will be presented in a live webinar on October 18, 10:00 am Pacific Time, 1:00 pm Eastern Time.
Register for the webinar here.
You will learn the disciplines, processes, and tools required to operate in today’s economy from Rudolf Melik, author of the new book, The Rise of the Project Workforce: Management People and Projects in a Flat World.
In this webinar, I will explain how you can compete effectively by embracing and adopting flat world principles. We will talk about how Tenrox, as a company, has adapted to changing times over the last ten years.
We will talk about how your company can:
- Adjust to the changing economy using project-based solutions
- Analyze project performance in real-time
- Achieve optimal resource utilization levels
- Standardize processes and implement best practices
- Facilitate compliance and corporate governance
We will end with a 15 minute LIVE demo of Tenrox Project Workforce Management.
Outsourcing and Innovation in Project Management: Can You Do Both?
Posted by Rudolf Melik - Project Management Software Blog in Globalization, IT Management on September 29th, 2007
Outsourcing’s Innovation Crisis is the title of a very interesting article by Stephanie Overby in CIO Magazine’s Advice & Opinion section this month. The thread of comments that follows the article is just as interesting.
The article is about IT outsourcing, but I see implications for many types of outsourcing, from large to micro levels, and for the "Hollywood Model" that we discuss here.
From Overby’s article:
Many IT leaders enter into outsourcing arrangements with an expectation that the outsourcing provider will not only live up to the letter of the contract, but by virtue of being a Big Outsourcer, will bring something more to the table.
Is that so wrong?
Some say, yes. It’s an unreasonable expectation. … Others say, if you can’t get IT innovation from billion-dollar service providers, who can you get it from?
In the comments, readers weigh in on both sides. One says that innovation isn’t really part of the business model: outsourcing is about fulfilling a contract that, in essence, states: "please do this for me." Another says that innovation is what will truly differentiate one vendor from another. The debate continues as commenters evaluate how realistic it is to expect a vendor to offer innovative projects and services–when they are really in business to deliver only what is expected, and earn the highest possible margins.
Inherent in Workforce 2.0–the rise of project-based workforces who offer highly specialized skills–is the assumption that a client is asking for a scope of work, and a provider is delivering that scope. It’s a simple model that applies whether I ask my Marketing team to build a sales presentation, or a multi-billion dollar company outsources its software development division to a company in Indonesia.
The request is: "please do this for me," and we must both be clear about what "this" is. But if the provider delivers "this" and only "this," then there is no innovation.
From our own experiences, outsourcing poses a great danger to innovation. Outsourcing partners will do "this" and nothing more. They cannot innovate; it is almost in the contract for them not to (afterall we ask them not to deviate from the agreement). So far, we have had little success with expecting any innovation from our outsourcing partners. But they do what they are asked to do quite well, in most cases.
So is the Workforce 2.0 innovation-challenged, by its very nature? Will delivering "this," as quickly and cheaply as possible, actually prevent us from pushing the best ideas out to the market? The hopeful answer is that the market will value innovation: that clients and managers will reward those who innovate. But will economic realities bear this out?
Enterprise 2.0: Part 3, The Rebirth of Software
Posted by Rudolf Melik - Project Management Software Blog in Enterprise Software, Globalization, workforce management on July 18th, 2007
By M.R. Rangaswami, Sand Hill Group
Enterprise 2.0 is a new phase for the software industry. The advantages and benefits for software vendors are tremendous. Innovation has driven the industry since its beginning, but now, rather than developing software internally and delivering it to customers, end users, business managers, CIOs, partners and other members of the ecosystem will be included in the innovation process.
An important part of the Enterprise 2.0 promise is the self-service application realm. The user-driven nature of these applications will revolutionize the workforce and the nature of collaboration.
Workforce management applications will emerge as a critical component of Enterprise 2.0 success. Companies that deploy these applications will witness increased visibility, better decision making and improved productivity—all core to the promise of Enterprise 2.0. And as Enterprise 2.0 influences workforce management, “Workforce 2.0” will emerge as companies leverage unprecedented ways to bring together teams, collaborate, share and develop talent, and build knowledge.
The results will be products that are more effective than ever before, customers that are more demanding than ever before and a software vendor ecosystem that will rise to the occasion—or be passed by.
The software industry is being reborn—yet again. Enterprise 2.0 will bring massive innovation to business computing. I stand by the assertion I wrote last year: in five years, we will look back and not recognize the software company of today.
M.R. Rangaswami is co-founder of Sand Hill Group and founder of SandHill.com, a strategic online resource for software business executives. This piece first appeared as part of an op-ed on SandHill.com.
Seven Survival Skills for the Flat World
Posted by Rudolf Melik - Project Management Software Blog in Globalization, flat world on July 13th, 2007
In a Q&A column on the New York Times web site, columnist and "Flat World" author Thomas Friedman answers questions from readers. In one answer addressing the impact that outsourcing has on American jobs, Friedman states:
"…the ability to learn how to learn is the single most important survival skill anyone can have."
(The Q&A is here; a login for the NYTimes.com site is required:
http://select.nytimes.com/2006/11/05/timesselect/06friedman-qa.html?pagewanted=3)
What are some other essential survival skills for the flat world? I believe they are as follows, starting with Friedman’s statement in the top slot:
- Learn as much as you can in your field. If you are doing only what has always worked in the past, and you are not learning new skills constantly, you are an easy target for outsourcing. Job security goes to people who adapt continually to change and innovation.
- Commit to projects, not to companies. Work on projects that you are excited about. In so doing, you will naturally improve your skills and marketability. Do not stay with a company if you are working on uninspiring projects, almost irrespective of how much they pay you.
- Develop highly specialized skills. For example, don’t be just a general project manager, but learn how to run projects for a telecommunications company. By gaining skills and insights that are in demand for a paticular industry, your marketability becomes less generic, harder to find, and more of an obvious fit for employers and project leaders.
- Keep on top of the latest innovations in your specialized area. If you are comfortable with what you do and use familiar tools and techniques, then your job is more likely to be outsourced. Instead, stay relevant. Earn certifications and designations in your field, keep pushing yourself to innovate, and demonstrate an ability to manage outsourceable work, so that you yourself are not outsourceable.
- Learn to leverage other highly specialized individuals. Do so in new ways that "flatten" the organization. The story of my pool is a good example.
- Use 21st-century tools to do your job and to collaborate. If you are still using Meetings, Emails & Spreadsheets (what I call MES) to manage projects and teams, then you are not taking advantage of the latest collaborative and Web-based project management tools and disciplines. If you do not adapt and improve your productivity, your competition will.
- Last but not least: You can start a new business! Information, and a global talent pool, is now easily and quickly accessible over the Internet. The virtualization of the enterprise has made it much easier to start and grow a small business. For example, you can bring a service to your region, city, or neighborhood that isn’t otherwise available. In a flat world, you actually have more opportunities to succeed and create than ever before in human history!
Enterprise 2.0: Part 2, Reaping The Benefits
Posted by Rudolf Melik - Project Management Software Blog in Enterprise 2.0, Enterprise Software, Globalization, workforce management on July 11th, 2007
By M.R. Rangaswami, Sand Hill Group
The Enterprise 2.0 opportunity for software vendors is to seed the ground for the next era of software applications. Over the next 5 to 10 years, software that leverages the tenets of Enterprise 2.0 will let “a thousand flowers bloom.”
There are a variety of possible scenarios. What if a consumer packaged goods company could introduce products via podcasts? What if a retailer could corresponds with its customers via a RSS? What if Fortune 500 companies could tag all internal documents and create proprietary indexes for future document searches? What if vendors’ software upgrades could be incremental instead of a big bang, all-or-nothing scenario? What if a customer could integrate a legacy application with a new one using only a few keystrokes?
For enterprises, the advantages of Enterprise 2.0 software are numerous.
- Lightweight—Requiring minimal system and maintenance resources
- Easy to use—Simple interfaces will mean no user training is required
- Quick adoption—Company-wide rollouts can be provided via services or downloads
- Easy to integrate—Web services and open source code will ease integration
- Vendor accountability—On-demand and service-based apps keep vendors responsive
As leading-edge CIOs embrace the philosophies and potential of Enterprise 2.0, some software vendors struggle with how they will fit into this new world. The reality is that the benefits for software vendors are also compelling.
- Fast development—New development models such as co-creation and global development will improve go-to-market speed.
- Reduced capital investment—Open source, components and shorter development time translate to lower production costs.
- Shorter sales cycle—Self-service and try-and-buy models mean products prove themselves.
- Committed, satisfied customers—Better products and service-based pricing means customers remain loyal.
In Part 3 of this series, I will describe the implications of Enterprise 2.0 on the users of software, and on Workforce 2.0.
(Jump to the next post in this series.)
M.R. Rangaswami is co-founder of Sand Hill Group and founder of SandHill.com, a strategic online resource for software business executives. This piece first appeared as part of an op-ed on SandHill.com.
Enterprise 2.0: Why It Matters to Project Workforce Management
Posted by Rudolf Melik - Project Management Software Blog in Enterprise 2.0, Enterprise Software, Globalization, workforce management on July 5th, 2007
We welcome M.R. Rangaswami of Sand Hill Group as our guest on Talent on Target for a 3-part series about Enterprise 2.0, and its implications for the software industry.
On this blog, I frequently discuss “Workforce 2.0”—the trend I see, as our world becomes flatter and more global, for work to become more project-based, more service-based, less centralized, and less controlled from the top down.
Enterprise 2.0 and Workforce 2.0 go hand-in-hand. In fact, it is Enterprise 2.0 that is making Workforce 2.0 possible. The ability—both technologically and economically—for enterprises to distribute their work and collaborate globally has a profound effect upon how we manage workforces, develop talent, and even how we treat people at work.
The changes in the software industry, which M.R. sees first-hand in his consultant practice, are simply the first wave that will also overtake the rest of IT and professional services, and have at least ripple effects in every other sector. It is an exciting time to be a part of the changes in the ways we do business and work together.
Enterprise 2.0: Bringing Software to Life
Posted by Rudolf Melik - Project Management Software Blog in Enterprise 2.0, Enterprise Software, Globalization, workforce management on July 5th, 2007
By M.R. Rangaswami, Sand Hill Group
One by one, technologies, models and vendors have emerged that have had a dramatic impact on the future of the software industry: open source, offshoring, services-oriented architecture (SOA) and software as a service (SaaS). Most recently, the buzz about Web 2.0 has moved to its potential in the business world.
Enterprise 2.0 is the emerging combination of all of these new technologies and models. It will re-shape the CIO’s philosophy about IT and it will transform the way vendors build and sell software.
What is " Enterprise 2.0"?
The most common definition of Enterprise 2.0 has involved the application of Web 2.0 technologies in the enterprise. But the reality is something far more. Enterprise computing is far more complex than personal computing. It includes legacy environments, innumerable vendors, mismatched data sources, stringent regulations and far-flung users. While Web 2.0 can deliver genuine advantages for both business users and consumers, the real "Enterprise 2.0" will encompass a far broader and more complex vision.
Enterprise 2.0 is the synergy of a new set of technologies, development models and delivery methods that are used to develop business software and deliver it to users.
Whether created by software vendors, internal IT departments, line-of-business units or service providers, the software of Enterprise 2.0 will be flexible, simple and lightweight. It will be created using an infinite combination of the latest–and possibly, some old-fashioned–ingredients, including
the following:
- Technologies–Open source, SOA/Web services (AJAX, RSS, blogs, wikis, tagging, social networking, and so on) Web 2.0, legacy and proprietary or some combination
- Development Models–Relying on in-house, outsourced or offshore resources–or any combination; pursuing a global development strategy; and/or pursuing co-creation with users, partners or both
- Delivery Methods–Downloading individually; paying for a license; and/or, using on-demand/SaaS or via a service provider
Only by taking a broad, holistic view of the business IT systems in place today and looking forward, beyond their constraints, will we be able to tap the necessary technologies and models to bring Enterprise 2.0 to life.
In Part 2 of this series, I will explain the advantages and benefits for software vendors to adopt Enterprise 2.0.
(Jump to the next post in this series.)
M.R. Rangaswami is co-founder of Sand Hill Group and founder of SandHill.com, a strategic online resource for software business executives. This piece first appeared as part of an op-ed on SandHill.com.
Outbehave Your Competition in a Flat World
Posted by Rudolf Melik - Project Management Software Blog in Globalization, workforce management on July 2nd, 2007
Thomas Friedman, author of The World is Flat, has penned a column in the New York Times entitled "The Whole World is Watching" (NY Times login required). In it, he describes how the Internet has potentially exposed all of its participants to public scrutiny:
When everyone has a blog, a MySpace page or Facebook entry, everyone is a publisher. When everyone has a cellphone with a camera in it, everyone is a paparazzo. When everyone can upload video on YouTube, everyone is filmmaker. When everyone is a publisher, paparazzo or filmmaker, everyone else is a public figure. We’re all public figures now. The blogosphere has made the global discussion so much richer — and each of us so much more transparent.
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But this also creates opportunities. Today “what” you make is quickly copied and sold by everyone. But “how” you engage your customers, “how” you keep your promises and “how” you collaborate with partners — that’s not so easy to copy, and that is where companies can now really differentiate themselves.
Quoting a new book titled How by Dov Seidman, Friedman discusses how intelligent businesses can use the transparency to "outbehave the competition," keeping in mind that all our behavior can, potentially, become a matter of public record.
The very nature of communication and collaboration in our "flat" world is raising the standards of good behavior, and making us all accountable for how we work together. Companies are already experiencing this transparency, as evidenced in the ways they use blogs more, and press releases less, to shape public opinion.
But this phenomenon will also affect how individuals behave at work. As the world flattens, each individual’s reputation and experience will be published information, whether it is recorded in a write-up in a project workforce management database, or in a video on YouTube. Each individual will take more responsibility–and, I hope, more pride–in the value they add to their project teams and the companies they serve.
Workforce Management Meets Project Management: “Evolve Or Die”
Posted by Rudolf Melik - Project Management Software Blog in Globalization, workforce management on June 29th, 2007
On the blog The HR Capitalist (http://www.hrcapitalist.com), Kris Dunn writes about how HR executives need to "get at the table, stay at the table" in terms of providing strategic value to the companies they serve.
In a recent post, Dunn referenced an article in the daily newsletter of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) conference being held this week in Las Vegas. The newsletter is here:
http://www.workforce.com/tools/dcn/2007shrm_sunday.pdf and the piece on page 2 is titled: "Readying HR managers for a post-HRO future." (HRO is human resources outsourcing.) Here is an excerpt:
The half-filled room at Saturday’s session on project management skills may signal that HR managers don’t yet understand that they must embrace the role of project manager now that more companies are outsourcing their HR processes.
As more companies turn over activities like payroll and benefits administration to vendors, HR managers either have to “evolve or die,” says Jason Corsello, a vice president at human capital management consulting firm Knowledge Infusion.
So here’s an interesting phenomenon: HR managers need to learn project management skills in a Workforce 2.0 world–not just to manage the outsourcing of IT, call centers, and other operational functions–but to manage the outsourcing of HR itself.
Overall, HR will lose its relevance if it assumes that workforces are staying large and static–that is the Workforce 1.0 model. As companies focus on their core competencies, become leaner, and participate in a global economy, HR will be more about managing vendor and partner relationships, accessing talent anywhere any time (not just inside the 4 walls), and developing the best teams for project-based work. This is the Workforce 2.0 model for HR.
Project Workforce Management Hits “Emerging Vendor” List
Posted by Rudolf Melik - Project Management Software Blog in Globalization on June 21st, 2007
Tenrox, and the team behind our Referral Partner Program, is proud to be recognized by CRN (a publication of top channel publisher CMP) as an Emerging Vendor. Tenrox made this list on the strength and depth of our new referral program, which was unveiled in April.
Read about the CRN Emerging Vendors here.
What makes our program innovative and competitive is that it is multi-tiered, so there are opportunities for consultants, resellers, integrators, and others to earn bonuses and commissions in a number of ways, for many types of projects and clients. For more details about our Referral Partner Program, please click here.
The open nature of this program demonstrates our own belief in, and commitment to, the “workforce 2.0″ philosophy. We are engaged in relationships both large and small, across the globe, with businesses of many sizes and varieties. While many of our competitors are looking for a few large clients, we don’t believe that is the way of the future.
Forward-looking businesses will be prepared to handle the dispersed and global nature of business, with many relationships and partnerships. Not only do we support this philosophy with our technology, but we live it.
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