Minimizing Development Costs
One very pertinent reason to outsourcing is to minimize costs involved in the development of products. Outsourcing seems to be a better and cost-effective measure, if you take into consideration all costs involved in maintaining the necessary capabilities within your company, which include:

• Employee costs such as salary, taxes, benefits, etc.
• Overhead expenditure on office space, desks, computer, training, software and hardware tools, etc.
• Supporting costs on information systems,
  Web 2.0 - What Are You Aiming For?
  In my previous article, I highlighted what I call my ‘favorite restaurant’ approach to assessing whether your website really does its job properly, that is, in a way that is going to really make it Web 2.0 friendly.This approach basically says that there are many factors that turn a particular restaurant into your favorite. Perhaps its great staff, a fantastic ambiance, obviously terrific food, cleanliness, convenience and so on.Your website should be exactly he same. Look at every constituent part of the site and work out exactly what they add to the overall picture.Then, ask yourself the next (and perhaps most) critical question, which is, what is the specific objective of each of those constituent parts.What EXACTLY is each
  When does outsource product development make sense?

  Outsource product development has caught the imagination of the entire business world. Sometimes, an enterprise opts for outsourced product development to manage costs, boost bottom line and save time for core activities. Other times, some strategic purposes such as dispense with some centers located at critical geographical regions have bearing on the option for outsource product development. There are several reasons can be cited for outsourcing option. But the moot question is -When does outsourcing make sense?

  Outsourcing product development makes the most sense when:

  • There is a need for expertise the company doesn’t have or need full time involvement.
  • There is a need for resources the company currently does not have to complete all of the required work.
  • It incurs heavily to keep up internal teams to do some or all of the development projects.
  • There is a desire to incorporate standard practices or fresh approach in the product development processes.
  • The capabilities to find, evaluate, and hire the outsourcing firm.
  • Methods, protocols, and resources for communicating and managing the outsourcing firm.
  • Tools, resources, and plans for gaining, storing, and using knowledge transfer.

  
  What are the reasons to outsource product development?
  
  Acquiring Expertise
  One of the most plausible and successful reasons to outsource product development is to acquire expertise not currently available within the company. This lack of expertise could be because of a specific, non-core activity within the company, or it could be due to sudden rise in demand that exceeds the company’s existing capability.

  In both situations, outsourcing product development is an excellent way to plug the need for expertise. However, a critical factor for successful implementation of outsourced product development is to ensure protection of all proprietary information, which should be arranged at the earliest or just before the onset of the project with some sort of contract.

  
  Building Additional Resources
  One very obvious reason to outsource is to supplement the number of development teams available to complete projects. Actually, in most of the cases firms prefer to staff below their total development capabilities in order to lower costs and risk, and with outsourcing they escape the possible burden of repetitive layoffs and hiring sprees.

  This approach to outsourcing, or resource expansion, works well when the company outsourcing the project understands the capabilities required to effectively outsource a development project. These capabilities include:

  • Identifying the best projects to outsource
  • Managing the outsourcing relationship
  • Identifying the project deliverables
  • Auditing and smoothly integrating the project deliverables into existing systems

  Although expansion or augmentation of resources is a common reason for outsourcing, it sometimes acts as a compelling reason for firms to miss out this opportunity. Ineffective cost benefit analysis and an inability to measure internal development costs often leads to conclude that the project can be done internally for less. Inevitably, the internal teams get pressurized and over burdened that lead to delayed and ineffectual product development. Development teams focusing on a single project produce the best results because they avoid the overhead and mistakes that result from multi-tasking across several projects.

  
  Minimizing Development Costs
  One very pertinent reason to outsourcing is to minimize costs involved in the development of products. Outsourcing seems to be a better and cost-effective measure, if you take into consideration all costs involved in maintaining the necessary capabilities within your company, which include:

  • Employee costs such as salary, taxes, benefits, etc.
  • Overhead expenditure on office space, desks, computer, training, software and hardware tools, etc.
  • Supporting costs on information systems, m
    No One Answers The Phone But The Sales Department
    I am writing this column prompted by a recent column in USA Today concerning the difficulty in getting to a live person when experiencing service troubles. The writer gave examples of some national companies that were difficult, if not impossible, to get to if one needed to speak with a live person for help.I laughed as I read the article knowing full well that here in the Mid-South, land of hospitality and assistance, this was not the case. I knew that my local providers put emphasis on customer service and support. Ease of solutions was the southern way, I thought.I also knew that, utilizing my own technical wisdom and knowledge, I would never purchase a product or service from a company that made it difficult to speak to someone who wou
    required work.
  • It incurs heavily to keep up internal teams to do some or all of the development projects.
  • There is a desire to incorporate standard practices or fresh approach in the product development processes.
  • The capabilities to find, evaluate, and hire the outsourcing firm.
  • Methods, protocols, and resources for communicating and managing the outsourcing firm.
  • Tools, resources, and plans for gaining, storing, and using knowledge transfer.

  
  What are the reasons to outsource product development?
  
  Acquiring Expertise
  One of the most plausible and successful reasons to outsource product development is to acquire expertise not currently available within the company. This lack of expertise could be because of a specific, non-core activity within the company, or it could be due to sudden rise in demand that exceeds the company’s existing capability.

  In both situations, outsourcing product development is an excellent way to plug the need for expertise. However, a critical factor for successful implementation of outsourced product development is to ensure protection of all proprietary information, which should be arranged at the earliest or just before the onset of the project with some sort of contract.

  
  Building Additional Resources
  One very obvious reason to outsource is to supplement the number of development teams available to complete projects. Actually, in most of the cases firms prefer to staff below their total development capabilities in order to lower costs and risk, and with outsourcing they escape the possible burden of repetitive layoffs and hiring sprees.

  This approach to outsourcing, or resource expansion, works well when the company outsourcing the project understands the capabilities required to effectively outsource a development project. These capabilities include:

  • Identifying the best projects to outsource
  • Managing the outsourcing relationship
  • Identifying the project deliverables
  • Auditing and smoothly integrating the project deliverables into existing systems

  Although expansion or augmentation of resources is a common reason for outsourcing, it sometimes acts as a compelling reason for firms to miss out this opportunity. Ineffective cost benefit analysis and an inability to measure internal development costs often leads to conclude that the project can be done internally for less. Inevitably, the internal teams get pressurized and over burdened that lead to delayed and ineffectual product development. Development teams focusing on a single project produce the best results because they avoid the overhead and mistakes that result from multi-tasking across several projects.

  
  Minimizing Development Costs
  One very pertinent reason to outsourcing is to minimize costs involved in the development of products. Outsourcing seems to be a better and cost-effective measure, if you take into consideration all costs involved in maintaining the necessary capabilities within your company, which include:

  • Employee costs such as salary, taxes, benefits, etc.
  • Overhead expenditure on office space, desks, computer, training, software and hardware tools, etc.
  • Supporting costs on information systems,
    Elliot Spitzer Has Committed Fraud, Where is the Extortion Money
    Elliot Spitzer has filed bogus lawsuits and extorted billions from highly reputable companies. To date he has extorted over 3 Billion in fines from mutual fund companies alone. Where is the money? The case against Bank of America; Bogus says jury. I could not agree more. No consumers or investors were harmed only American Mutual Fund Companies which help to capitalize America.The State Attorney General owes the business community an apology. But where is the money. We need a Sarbaines Oxley accounting down to the paper clips. I hereby demand an accounting. Where did all that money go? The State of New York owes the money back with Wall Street style growth rates. Elliot Spitzer and the State of New York must disgorged from their ill gotten gains. If
    tivity within the company, or it could be due to sudden rise in demand that exceeds the company’s existing capability.

    In both situations, outsourcing product development is an excellent way to plug the need for expertise. However, a critical factor for successful implementation of outsourced product development is to ensure protection of all proprietary information, which should be arranged at the earliest or just before the onset of the project with some sort of contract.

    
    Building Additional Resources
    One very obvious reason to outsource is to supplement the number of development teams available to complete projects. Actually, in most of the cases firms prefer to staff below their total development capabilities in order to lower costs and risk, and with outsourcing they escape the possible burden of repetitive layoffs and hiring sprees.

    This approach to outsourcing, or resource expansion, works well when the company outsourcing the project understands the capabilities required to effectively outsource a development project. These capabilities include:

    • Identifying the best projects to outsource
    • Managing the outsourcing relationship
    • Identifying the project deliverables
    • Auditing and smoothly integrating the project deliverables into existing systems

    Although expansion or augmentation of resources is a common reason for outsourcing, it sometimes acts as a compelling reason for firms to miss out this opportunity. Ineffective cost benefit analysis and an inability to measure internal development costs often leads to conclude that the project can be done internally for less. Inevitably, the internal teams get pressurized and over burdened that lead to delayed and ineffectual product development. Development teams focusing on a single project produce the best results because they avoid the overhead and mistakes that result from multi-tasking across several projects.

    
    Minimizing Development Costs
    One very pertinent reason to outsourcing is to minimize costs involved in the development of products. Outsourcing seems to be a better and cost-effective measure, if you take into consideration all costs involved in maintaining the necessary capabilities within your company, which include:

    • Employee costs such as salary, taxes, benefits, etc.
    • Overhead expenditure on office space, desks, computer, training, software and hardware tools, etc.
    • Supporting costs on information systems,
      Direct Marketing - Keep them Reading
      Whether you are door dropping leaflets, sending direct mail packs or putting inserts into newspapers you have a limited amount of time to make your appeal to your prospect. Assuming that your envelope has been opened, or your leaflet has been destined for a glance at the least, you have a matter of seconds to make your case and convince your prospect to carry on reading.Now, you can't outright make a call to action straight away, you need to convince first, so lets get started. Initially, you need to pique your prospect's interest. You can do this visually, with some eye catching design. You can do it literally by making an appealing offer, or just by spelling out a benefit of your product. Better still, you could use both approaches.Never f
      ve layoffs and hiring sprees.

      This approach to outsourcing, or resource expansion, works well when the company outsourcing the project understands the capabilities required to effectively outsource a development project. These capabilities include:

      • Identifying the best projects to outsource
      • Managing the outsourcing relationship
      • Identifying the project deliverables
      • Auditing and smoothly integrating the project deliverables into existing systems

      Although expansion or augmentation of resources is a common reason for outsourcing, it sometimes acts as a compelling reason for firms to miss out this opportunity. Ineffective cost benefit analysis and an inability to measure internal development costs often leads to conclude that the project can be done internally for less. Inevitably, the internal teams get pressurized and over burdened that lead to delayed and ineffectual product development. Development teams focusing on a single project produce the best results because they avoid the overhead and mistakes that result from multi-tasking across several projects.

      
      Minimizing Development Costs
      One very pertinent reason to outsourcing is to minimize costs involved in the development of products. Outsourcing seems to be a better and cost-effective measure, if you take into consideration all costs involved in maintaining the necessary capabilities within your company, which include:

      • Employee costs such as salary, taxes, benefits, etc.
      • Overhead expenditure on office space, desks, computer, training, software and hardware tools, etc.
      • Supporting costs on information systems,
        Stinkin' Thinkin'
        An issue that can be considered a major mistake in business is that of being too narrow minded. Normally, I would be harping about having a narrow target market, but in this instance it is just the opposite of what we’d usually think. While we know that a more narrowly-focused target market helps us to be more effective in marketing our wares, a crucial error is made when we keep that narrow vision when we enter a room full of people.Scanning the room, we may make a snap judgment as to who in the room can be helpful. We’ll probably say, “Nope, these people are not what I need; they can’t use my services.” Or, “Nope - let me out of here. These people are all small-timers, there’s not even one person with whom I’d like to talk.” Here is where we n
        nternal teams get pressurized and over burdened that lead to delayed and ineffectual product development. Development teams focusing on a single project produce the best results because they avoid the overhead and mistakes that result from multi-tasking across several projects.

        
        Minimizing Development Costs
        One very pertinent reason to outsourcing is to minimize costs involved in the development of products. Outsourcing seems to be a better and cost-effective measure, if you take into consideration all costs involved in maintaining the necessary capabilities within your company, which include:

        • Employee costs such as salary, taxes, benefits, etc.
        • Overhead expenditure on office space, desks, computer, training, software and hardware tools, etc.
        • Supporting costs on information systems, management, human resources, payroll, etc.
        • Risk costs such as downsizing costs including severance pay, legal support, etc.

        In addition, certain irritating questions keep recurring such as:

        • How do we build and maintain a high quality development team within our corporate culture?
        • What traits and skills are important? Are those traits and skills available in our area of geography and expertise? How long will it take? What will it cost?
        • How many teams will we need today and should we try to staff every project internally?

        After having done cost benefit analysis on all these posed questions, most firms come to the conclusion that outsourced product development teams cost less than maintaining comparable internal product development teams.

        In addition, organizations having internal product development resources that choose to outsource product development projects can have the following benefits of outsourcing:

        • Gaining new perspective & process
        • Acquiring quality system reviews, and
        • Gaining industry standard practices

        Most would agree that firms that don’t usually outsource product development should periodically do so to know how they could improve the results of their internal development teams. To glean the maximum benefit, the firm outsourcing the development should have systems in place to imbibe within the lessons-learned and to integrate them into its systems where appropriate.

        
        Bottom Line
        Thus, it certainly makes business sense to outsource either complete or a part of product development process, which helps organizations build near-term capability, meet increased resource needs, reduce costs, and bring a new development project perspective.