Mark Ehr
Misconceptions surrounding service management
This week, I want to diverge from the past few development-oriented articles to dispel what I feel are common misconceptions that I hear repeatedly from some IT professionals and software management vendors. These misconceptions...
Agile methodology speeds software development
Last week, I introduced the subject of Agile software development, a methodology that enables rapid software development through a major shift in the way that software is designed and developed. Agile has had its successes and...
What one outsourcing customer discovered while shopping for providers
Yesterday, I had a very interesting conversation with the vice president of Development for a software company that recently conducted extensive research into outsourced development shops in a number of countries including India,...
Software licensing changes boost ASPs
First off, a happy 2005 to everyone, and I wish you all a prosperous new year and express my condolences to those affected by the recent tsunami.
How not to get fired
It is impossible to outsource the entire IT function as the company absolutely must retain its best, brightest and best-educated personnel to make sure the outsourcing initiative bears fruit. Your challenge is to ensure you are one...
Web hosting suppliers should act faster when customers are hacked
"I'm sorry sir, but Abuse does not work on weekends. You will need to call us back on Monday in order to follow up this hack of your Web site, and it will typically take up to 24 hours for us to complete our forensic analysis to try...
Sun boosts services unit with SevenSpace buy
I have had a number of conversations with Sun Services over the past few months regarding its goal to increase the levels of service the Sun division provides its customers. Sun Services says it wants to move to the "next level" of...
Mailbag: Reader views on outsourcing around the globe
I can always tell when an article hits a nerve, as I get a lot of reader feedback. That's a good thing - sometimes writing a column can be a bit like being a radio DJ - you never really know if people are listening until they call in....
India shoots itself in the foot with new tax
On Sept. 28, India shot its outsourcing market in the foot. On that date, India's finance ministry announced an income tax of more than 36% on foreign firms that have software, R&D, or customer service operations in India. The tax was...
Outsourcing, George W. Bush, and the next four years
I am writing this article only a few minutes after listening to John Kerry concede the election to George W. Bush, followed by Bush's victory speech. This has been a pivotal election year in which the future of offshore outsourcing...
CompuCredit finds success with offshore business process outsourcing
A couple of weeks ago, I promised to write about offshore outsourcing successes and failures. To that end, this week's column describes the successes that CompuCredit has enjoyed in outsourcing business processes to a service provider...