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  WELCOME

Welcome to the Enaxis Consulting quarterly newsletter. The newsletter will provide updates about business, technology, and outsourcing trends. We sincerely hope that as part of the extended Enaxis family you will find the information useful and relevant. We will also use this opportunity to let you know about our offerings, white papers, and events. For additional information on topics covered in this issue, please e-mail info@enaxisconsulting.com.


ENAXIS PRESENTS “OPTIMIZING OUTSOURCING” AT THE TECHEXECS HOUSTON CIO PANEL FORUM OCT.15

Leading Houston IT executives will discuss key issues related to IT leadership in today’s economy, the pains and challenges they face and best practices at the TechExecs event on Thursday, Oct. 15th 8–11:45 a.m., in Greenway Plaza (see below for the registration link). Dhiren Shethia, co-founder and managing partner of Enaxis Consulting, will speak about “Optimizing Outsourcing”and address the key challenges and trends facing CIOs as they consider outsourcing. 

Other topics addressed at the event include: “Green Cost Saving Optimizations Targeting Data Centers”, “Cloud Based Storage & Remote Disaster Recovery: Best Practices”, and “The Multi-Faceted Role of the CIO: Business Strategist, Innovator, Solutions Architect and ?". The topc presentations will then be followed by a representative CIO panel discussion forum.
 
TechExecs™ is a national network of Senior IT Executives with over 370,000 contacts throughout the U.S. The purpose of the TechExecs Network is to focus on promoting regional technology community, featuring "Best of Breed" resources available to key decision makers, promote networking and partnership among technology and industry executives both online and in-person and ultimately serving as the dominant connection for industry IT Executives and IT Solution Executives. The TechExecs Network is the national extension of Techxans. 
 
 
 
 

ANALYSTS PREDICT RECOVERY IN 2010 IT SPENDING

Analysts agree that 2010 will see an increase in IT spend from the 2009 recessionary environment. CIOs are starting to prioritize IT expenditures now to avoid falling behind the competition as the market improves. Specifically, the Oil & Gas industry is expected to see a recovery of 4%-6% increase in IT spend in 2010 following the decline from this year (according to IDC). Most analysts have increased IT spend prediction from staying flat in 2010 to an increase of 4% for overall IT spend. Spend on PC’s for enterprises alone is predicted to increase by 9%.
 
Drivers of the uptick in IT spend for 2010 include:
  • Upgrades
  • Security
  • Storage
  • Mobility
The release of Windows 7 is expected to prompt companies to look to upgrade aging hardware and software. With announcements by Intel and Dell of better-than-expected consumer spending in the second half of 2009, Gartner notes that companies feel it is safe to spend on PCs and mobile devices again.
 
Security software did not suffer a decline in spend, with an 8% increase in revenues in 2009 over the previous year. That number is expected to rise to 13% in 2010. Security software and security Software-as-a-Service products, which include email protection and access management, are areas that cannot afford cutbacks.
 
Virtualization is one of the drivers of growth in the storage sector in 2010. As companies seek to optimize storage capacity and sourcing strategies, virtualization is expected to become more widely adopted in 2010.
 
Finally, mobility is a driving force in the expected growth of IT spend in the Oil & Gas industry, according to IDC. For these enterprises to remain competitive, mobile devices and digital oilfields are expected to be among IT spend priorities in 2010.
 
Now is the time to identify which IT projects are your company’s priorities and plan your IT spend as the market looks to improve in 2010.
 
Learn how Enaxis can help, drop us an email at info@EnaxisConsulting.com.

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EMBRACING UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS

Unified Communications is the overarching set of collaborative communications tools, including phone, Internet, PC, mobile devices, conferencing and messaging. As communications technologies advance and converge, large enterprises are facing the challenge of embracing Unified Communications with a governance structure that supports merging technologies in a multi-vendor environment.
 
Unified Communications touches every end-user in an organization. To minimize disruption to the business, understanding the impact to the organization beyond technical implications is critical. The need for an overarching governance model underlies a set of processes – including requirements-gathering, vendor selection, standards development, design, procurement and implementation. The governance model will manage change, set appropriate controls and support the new ways the organization is able to communicate across technologies. A robust model aligns the appropriate skill sets with the organization’s needs while remaining flexible and scalable. Such governance puts in place the processes to work with multiple vendors and sourcing strategies, defining roles and responsibilities to manage the dynamic changes in Unified Communications.

Key areas to address when implementing a Unified Communications solution include:
  • Sourcing strategies – which elements to outsource, in-source or whether a hybrid solution works best
  • Governance and support – who will oversee Unified Communications on a global, regional and local level and how will different groups work together internally and in conjunction with external vendors
  • Organizational change – how to reduce the impact to the end-user and the organization as a whole, smoothing the transition to new, more efficient business processes using Unified Communications.
As experienced consultants, we work closely with clients to understand their current and desired business environments, not just from a technical perspective but also from an organizational and end-user perspective.
 
Learn how Enaxis can help, drop us an email at info@EnaxisConsulting.com 
 
 

LEAN SIX SIGMA - MORE THAN MANUFACTURING

Well-known for its process-improvement benefits for the manufacturing industry, Lean Six Sigma is now catching the attention of service industry managers. Information technology, healthcare and financial services managers are now looking to Lean to help them effect long-lasting improvements to their bottom line. How can you benefit?

The first step is to put on your customer cap. Your initial goals when applying Lean will be to assess your processes to identify those that add value. Evaluating through your customers’ eyes will help you identify the processes that provide the most customer-centric merit. These should be your focal point as a service organization.
 
The next step is to identify processes that do not add value and take the necessary steps to eliminate them. The resulting streamlined processes will offer improved turnaround time and cost savings while delivering better quality of service to customers. These benefits can be obtained quickly by properly implementing the right Lean Six Sigma tools and methods. Service-oriented organizations are likely to require organizational change management efforts to effect change in processes related to human performance – how decisions are made, information is communicated or customer relationships are managed.
 
While Lean Six Sigma’s roots began with manufacturing, the principles of this methodology extend to the service industry. Organizations such as IT, financial service providers and health care systems are asking the question how Lean Six Sigma can be applied to service. It can be applied by considering these simple principles: All work is a process, all processes have variability and all processes create data that explains variability.
 
To determine how Lean Six Sigma applies to your service organization, consider utilizing outside expertise from those that have successfully implemented Lean Six Sigma at similar organizations.
 
Learn how Enaxis can help, drop us an email at info@EnaxisConsulting.com

 

GOVERNANCE – THE ACHILLES HEEL OF IT OUTSOURCING

As the growth of outsourcing continues, the processes and tools around outsourcing have matured. However, governance in context of IT Outsourcing is probably the least understood of these processes.
 
Governance oversees the responsibilities, roles, objectives, interfaces and controls required to anticipate change and manage the introduction, maintenance, performance, costs and control of third-party provided services. Governance processes have become increasingly critical as:
  • The use of multi-sourcing increases
  • More outsourced functions are performed off-site
  • Service levels are evolving to be more operationally effective than financially penalizing
  • Additional governance support tools are available to the customer
 
Components of a Good Governance Model
A governance model for outsourced suppliers should typically include:
  1. Performance Management
    • Ensure quality
    • Use metrics to measure and monitor performance
    • Drive efficiency improvements
    Tools: Operations reports and meetings, SLA reports, regular business reviews

  2. Management
    • Ensure customer/vendor satisfaction
    • Strategic alignment between customer and vendor
    • Manage risk
    Tools: Service committee, formal customer satisfaction review, communication and escalation plan, regular risk assessment

  3. Contract Management
    • Validate contract compliance
    • Resolve disputes
    • Maintain contract documentation
    Tools: Escalation map, trigger clauses

  4. Financial Management
    • Verify and manage costs
    • Ensure deal value is realized
    Tools: Scorecards, monthly invoice and analysis 
To get the most from outsourced services, buyers are encouraged to make governance a primary focus in RFP development, contract negotiations, and to work out the related details before the deal team disappears. Buyers should also retain seasoned outsourcing management professionals to help prepare for the transition and avoid common pitfalls. Finally, utilizing oversight and advanced reporting tools (e.g. customer portals) are essential for monitoring outsourced service performance in real-time.
 
Learn how Enaxis can help, drop us an email at info@EnaxisConsulting.com

ABOUT ENAXIS CONSULTING
About Enaxis Consulting Enaxis Consulting is the premier provider of management consulting and technology advisory services to Fortune 500 clients across various industries. Enaxis Consulting’s primary client offerings include management consulting, outsourcing advisory services, and business technology consulting. Enaxis Consulting drives successful outcomes using a simplified, structured methodology coupled with proven rigor and depth of experience.
© 2009 Enaxis Consulting

For additional information on topics covered in this issue please email info@enaxisconsulting.com.