Posts Tagged ‘sourcing’

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Monday’s Musings: Putting An End To The Conflict Of Interest Among Some Sourcing Advisors

Published on March 28, 2011 by R "Ray" Wang

Many Services Firms Seek Unfair Advantages With Market Makers

Service providers continue to battle it out in the über competitive market for large annual multi-million dollar contracts.  Market makers who serve as sourcing advisors, (i.e. management consultants, analysts, or vendor specialists) often influence the outcome of large sourcing contracts and system integration projects.  Consequently, more and more service providers seek to influence sourcing advisors.

Now let’s be honest, influence through consulting engagements around positioning, competitive intelligence, and go-to-market strategy is nothing new.  Most firms make it transparent to the buyer who they work with.  However, in the past few months, we’ve uncovered several new techniques that cross the line on both objectivity and transparency.  These approaches include both formal and informal contractual guarantees across three major areas:

  • Number of blog posts or written research about a vendor. Sourcing advisors commit to writing certain amounts of research in exchange for a contract with the service provider.  In some cases, the research may require editorial approval by the service provider.
  • Number of invitations to bidders conferences. Sourcing advisors commit to inviting the contracted service provider to a short listed group of candidates.  Some contracts even include a tiered scale for greater payouts based on the number of invitations to deals.
  • Kick backs and referral fees for closed business. Sourcing advisors collect a financial reward for recommending a buyer to a service provider.  Fees work similar to referral models with alliance partners.

The Bottom Line:  Ask These Five Questions Before You Engage With Your Sourcing Advisor

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Research Report: Constellation’s Research Outlook For 2011

Published on January 4, 2011 by R "Ray" Wang

Organizations Seek Measurable Results In Disruptive Tech, Next Gen Business, And Legacy Optimization Projects For 2011

Credits: Hugh MacLeod

Enterprise leaders seek pragmatic, creative, and disruptive solutions that achieve both profitability and market differentiation.  Cutting through the hype and buzz of the latest consumer tech innovations and disruptive technologies, Constellation Research expects business value to reemerge as the common operating principle that resonates among leading marketing, technology, operations, human resource, and finance executives.  As a result, Constellation expects organizations to face three main challenges: (see Figure 1.):

  • Navigating disruptive technologies. Innovative leaders must quickly assess which disruptive technologies show promise for their organizations.  The link back to business strategy will drive what to adopt, when to adopt, why to adopt, and how to adopt.  Expect leading organizations to reinvest in research budgets and internal processes that inform, disseminate, and prepare their organizations for an increasing pace in technology adoption.
  • Designing next generation business models. Disruptive technologies on their own will not provide the market leading advantages required for success. Leaders must identify where these technologies can create differentiation through new business models, grow new profit pools via new experiences, and deliver market efficiencies that save money and time.  Organizations will also have to learn how to fail fast, and move on to the next set of emerging ideas.
  • Funding innovation through legacy optimization. Leaders can expect budgets to remain from flat to incremental growth in 2011. As a result, much of the disruptive technology and next generation business models must be funded through optimizing existing investments. Leaders not only must reduce the cost of existing investments, but also, leverage existing infrastructure to achieve the greatest amount of business value.

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Monday’s Musings: Next Generation CIO’s Face 11 Skill Shifts In A Disruptive World

Published on January 18, 2010 by R "Ray" Wang

The Era Of CIO Dictatorships Ends With 2009

Less than 5 years ago, the mighty CIO controlled his or her organization’s destiny by shepherding multi-million dollar projects and ruling with a fist. Business leaders had to pay homage to the IT team and they hated it.  The economic crisis, advent of the cloud and SaaS, and the massive number of IT failures have rapidly changed the role of the CIO.  Saddled with the burden of maintaining legacy projects and faced with a shortage in budget and resources, businesses now move around the IT team as they must meet a flurry of business requirements.  CIO’s have lost a lot of control in guiding how technology is used in the enterprise because the world of consumer tech has out innovated enterprise class technologies.

CIO’s And Their Organizations Challenged By The Pace Of Change In The 2010′s

Similar to this past decade, organizations will face massive amounts of change in the next decade.  While change is nothing new to CIO’s and their organizations, the velocity of change has increased – to a point where the rate of obsolescence outpaces the rate of change.  Conversations with over 200 CIO’s this year reveal an anxiety in remaining nimble, cutting costs, and just keeping up with change.  CIO’s must rapidly respond to disruptive forces in the market, workforce dynamics, business models, and pace of technology adoption (see Figure 1).

Figure 1.  Four areas of change responsible for major disruptions in today’s organizations

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(Source: R Wang & Insider Associates, LLC)

The Bottom Line – The CIO Role Shifts To Match Next Gen Enterprise Requirements

What’s the role of the CIO in this next gen enterprise?  Well, next gen CIO’s must help organizations navigate complexity while realizing the benefits of a solid business technology strategy.   While the immediate focus may be on hot topics such as security and risk, third party maintenance, cloud and SaaS, and email replacement and unified communications, there are significant transformations across 11 broader skill sets (see Figure 2.)  Next Gen CIO’s must begin the process of transforming themselves and organizations in 2010 to meet the demands of the decade, anticipating the disruptive business models, technologies, and processes to come.

Figure 2. Eleven Skill Shifts For The Next Gen CIO

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(Source: R Wang & Insider Associates, LLC)

In This Series

Your POV

What skill shifts are you seeing in your work as a CIO?  Do these shifts resonate? Do you have a different point of view? Please post or send on to rwang0 at gmail dot com or r at softwareinsider dot org and we’ll keep your anonymity.

Copyright © 2010 R Wang and Insider Associates, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Vendor Event: Ariba North American User Conference

Published on September 27, 2009 by R "Ray" Wang

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Title: Vendor Event: Ariba North American User Conference
Location: The Gaylord Opryland Conference and Resort, Nashville, TN
Link out: Click here

Start Date: 2009-10-11
End Date: 2009-10-14

Registration Link

North American User Conference
Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center
Nashville, TN
October 11 – 14, 2009

Overview

The Ariba User Conference will provide you with two days of networking with other Ariba users as well as invaluable opportunities to interact with Ariba product managers, engineers, and solution strategists. From Ariba enablement team leaders to procurement analysts, you will gain the first-hand information you need to be successful in spend management. If you are being charged with delivering results that take your company to new heights in spend management, you can\’t afford to miss the annual Ariba User Conference.

Why should you attend?

The Ariba User Conference is a forum for users to come together and discuss what\’s new and what\’s next for Ariba with respect to their solution, region or industry. You will hear tips on how to better prepare for the next major release and share best practices on solution usage. Ariba will also offer an optional training track at the end of the conference on topics ranging from Sourcing Event Management (Basic and Advanced courses), Contract Management Professional, and Spend Visibility.

This conference is a must-attend for all users to learn, share, and grow with their Ariba spend management solution. This is a unique opportunity to meet with Ariba users from all geographies, solutions and industries, and you do not want to miss it. If you have attended Ariba User Conferences in the past, you know how invaluable the experience is. The upcoming Ariba User Conference will provide more time over the course of two days to connect with an even-wider audience than ever before.

Who should attend?

* Buyers
* Analysts
* Implementation Team
* Technical Staff
* Suppliers
* Department Managers
* Educators and Trainers of Ariba Applications
* Business Owners

User Conference Benefits

* Gain Insight into the Ariba Roadmap Align your spend management plans with Ariba’s direction by hearing from our lead developers, product managers and customer support group.
* Learn New Spend Management Strategies Application tips and tricks; implementation strategies; training practices and upgrade best practices, with a focus on the next major release. Get new ideas from your peers through breakout sessions, panel discussions, social events, and networking throughout the conference.
* Troubleshoot Issues with Technology Experts Bring your issues and questions to the technical support area. Experts will help you work through your problems at the \”Ask Engineering\” stand.
* Share Your Feedback Meet with Ariba product support staff to discuss any of your product support needs while sharing your feedback at the same time. The team leaders will be present onsite at the \”Ask Product Support\” stand.
* Collaborate with Ariba Solutions Experts through Networking and Informal Breakfast Roundtable Discussions Meet with solutions owners and address questions and topics dear to you and your organization over the two days of the conference.

Space is limited and registration is on a first-come, first-served basis!

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Tuesday’s Tip: Note To Self – Start Renegotiating Your Q4 Software Maintenance Contracts Now!

Published on September 1, 2009 by R "Ray" Wang

Labor Day (US Holiday) traditionally marks the end of summer BBQ’s, the beginning of the fall conference season, and yes, the time to begin a review of your software maintenance contacts that expire end of year.   As clients prepare for this seasonal ritual, a few trends in 2009 should set the stage for negotiations:

  • Continued weakness in the economy. Vendor revenues continue to decline as new license sales drop and vendors become more dependent on support and maintenance revenues.  Customers looking to upgrade or commit to new apps can expect vendors to be more generous on the support and maintenance front.
  • Dated and inflexible architecture of legacy applications. Change in business models, workplace dynamics, and macro economic conditions apply new pressures to aging systems purchased pre-Y2K.  Customers seek paths to upgrade but are limited by economic pressures.
  • Vendor awareness of customer discontent with existing support offerings. Customers now seek to understand what value vendors deliver in their support and maintenance agreements.  Many vendors have proactively responded by improving service or making appropriate concessions.
  • Growing acceptance of third party maintenance (3PM) options. Vendors such as Rimini Street and Spinnaker have proven to the market that they can deliver 3PM to an array of ERP applications.  Cutting maintenance fees by 50% or more can free up funds for innovation or pay for the next upgrade.

Align your apps strategy before negotiating contracts – do your homework

Contract negotiations strategy should be planned in conjunction with an overall apps strategy.  Begin the process 2 to 3 months in advance.  Make sure the teams have the proper incentives in place.  Take the following steps as you prepare for your maintenance renewals:

The bottom line – follow the seven simple steps to successfully negotiating software contracts.

  1. Ensure that the right team is in place
  2. Identify the organization’s key business drivers
  3. Determine the product adoption plan
  4. Consider contract strategy implications of the software ownership life cycle
  5. Align contract strategy with product adoption
  6. Identify leverage points
  7. Prioritize key contract objectives

Your POV

Looking to hear your best practices with software maintenance contract renewals.

  • Is your maintenance contract up for renewal at the end of the year?
  • Do you need help putting a strategy in place?
  • Have you conducted an apps strategy assessment?
  • Would you like to break free from your vendor but don’t know what options exist?

Post your comment here or reach me direct at r at altimetergroup dot com or r at softwareinsider dot org.

Copyright © 2009 R Wang. All rights reserved.

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Personal Log: Altimeter Group – Helping Organizations Bridge The Technology Obsolescence Gap

Published on August 27, 2009 by R "Ray" Wang

Altimeter Group Logo

Emerging Technologies Alter The Approach To Enterprise Strategies…
The proliferation of and access to emerging technologies by the business user challenges organizations to rethink their enterprise technology strategy.  Consumer technologies have proven to be not only more innovative and collaborative, but also quite accessible and equally reliable when compared to existing enterprise tools.  The result – IT departments no longer reign supreme in determining technology strategy and adoption.  In fact, business leaders and individuals increasingly play a greater, if not decisive, role in driving the selection and cultural adoption of technology.  Consequently, enterprise strategies must be crafted to manage disparate systems, technologies, and deployment options across the organization.

… But The Rate of Technology Obsolescence Outpaces The Pace Of Technology Adoption

Organizations face massive levels of change across challenging macro-economic conditions, emerging workplace dynamics, new business models, and slow pace of technology adoption.  Unfortunately, they must respond to these changes while being saddled with the burdens of last century’s technology.  Without actionable application strategies in the transition to social enterprise apps, many organizations face obsolescence.  How do we get from where we are today to where we want to be?

Enterprise Strategies Must Begin With The End In Mind
To take a Coveyism, its important to define the objectives before you begin.  As the enterprise strategist at Altimeter I’ll be assisting our clients with:

  • Adopting technology strategies driven by business need;
  • Building dynamic user experiences;
  • Crafting strategies to transform business processes;
  • Delivering a connected community; and
  • Eliminating burdensome cost structures to fund innovation

These advisory projects will include but not be limited to:

  • Technology strategy reviews
  • Vendor selection
  • Independent verification and validation (IV&V)
  • Vendor management strategies

Succeed With A Holistic Approach Beyond Just Enterprise Strategy

As I assist our clients with these enterprise strategies, its important to think of these in the context of a holistic approach (see Figure 1).  Your organization’s overall strategy should also address the challenges and success strategies in leadership, customer, and innovation required for success.  I’ll be joined by 3 other partners including our founding partner, Charlene Li, who will focus on the culture and structures required to guide these emerging technologies in the organization.  Deb Schultz, a pioneer in bringing innovation concepts to life, will be leading our labs program at “The Hangar”. Meanwhile, my former Forrester colleague, Jeremiah Owyang will be focusing on customer strategy of emerging technologies.

Figure 1. Altimeter Group’s Four Practice Areas

Join The Altimeter Open House Webinar On The Future of Business
Find out more about how the Altimeter Group can serve as your resource at our upcoming Open House Webinar.  Details below:

Date:                           Thursday, September 10th, 2009
Time:                          10 am Pacific Time (GMT – 8:00)
Registration link:     https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/725944010

Related blog posts:

Your POV

What are your top concerns about your enterprise strategy?  Will you have the tools to get from today’s enterprise technologies to an emerging world of Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 business solutions.  Let us know what you think.  Post your comment here or reach me direct at r at altimetergroup dot com or r at softwareinsider dot org.

Copyright © 2009 R Wang. All rights reserved.

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