A decade ago, Forbes suggested we were approaching “the end of the age of outsourcing,” and they could not have been more wrong. Today, the growing cost of labor, a shortage of IT and engineering expertise, and the rise of software-as-a-service (…
Managed infrastructure has a new player. IBM’s big news — a spinoff of their managed infrastructure division, dubbed Kyndryl — effectively splits the company in two. IBM claims the move will create a more agile, resilient, and secure service…
Hospitals are struggling to make aging procurement models work in today’s tumultuous markets. The supply chain is second only to labor in healthcare facilities, and prices are on the rise. Cost-cutting measures must account for procurement…
It took a global pandemic for many to realize we need a more strategic approach to supply chain management. The old ways of doing business do not work. Tight budgets and tumultuous raw materials markets make it tough for purchasing and supply chain…
A few years ago, buzz had the CIO role becoming obsolete. The rise of self-service consumer technology led many to believe these tools would run the world on their own. But digital transformation changed everything, and CIOs are now stepping up as…
Everyone has some pandemic-related battle fatigue; 2020 was the opposite of “business as usual.” The volatility we experienced last year is expected to undergo a force multiplier in the coming years. Labor shortages, an increase in cybercriminal…
A black swan event like COVID-19 gives new perspective on the importance of embracing innovation and change for enterprise organizations. The pandemic forced many companies to reinvent themselves and develop new service lines and revenue streams.…
CFO Dive says worldwide IT spending is about to increase again — by more than 6% this year. If anything, the C-suite has accelerated its push toward digital transformation. Is this the right approach? Maybe, but there are mistakes CFOs should take…
Who says you can’t teach an old CFO new accounting models? Last year, budgeting was an exercise in winging it. But reopening demands a return to more concrete budgeting practices. That doesn’t mean a return to pre-COVID budgetary processes. What do…
The cloud may be costing your business more than it should. CFO says cloud computing costs will exceed $1 trillion by 2024 with a CAGR of 16%. The rate of billing growth for cloud services is a wake-up call for the C-suite to evaluate and track…
Building a redundant supply chain requires planning for vendor transition. While we can’t prepare for every minute possibility, a bare bones transition plan that gets you from one vendor to another quickly will help you sleep better at night. We…
A black swan event is a rare and unexpected business crisis. But black swans are not that elusive, especially if you live in Australia. There’s a lesson for the business world in this idea: Black swans are more common than you might realize. From a…
From a supply chain perspective, the COVID-19 pandemic was a teaching moment. It illuminated weaknesses in vendor sourcing and procurement. Businesses learned hard lessons about the value of cash and the necessity of redundancy. The lessons the…
Shared services have been transforming the corporate delivery model since the 1980s. As an operating model, the philosophy is to centralize and standardize administrative functions. The idea is to go from multiple silos with many workflows, to one…
Spending on robotic process automation (RPA) increased by 57% in 2018 and is expected to reach $2.4 billion annually by 2022. It’s the latest trend in intelligent automation — and it’s just getting started. The core functionality of RPA seeks to…
The pandemic changed everything we know about business structure — and it will continue to impact us personally and professionally long into the future. IT has definitely felt the disruption associated with COVID-19, and it’s unlikely the industry…
It’s a challenging time to be in the procurement field. COVID-19 proved that our supply chains are weaker than we thought and highlighted our need for real-time technology tools to stay on top of volatile markets. Procurement, however, has lagged…
Outsourcing is somewhat of a controversial topic among US companies. Opponents of outsourcing believe it takes jobs away from established employees. However, for many businesses, outsourcing is a way to widen their pool of qualified employees. So,…
The supply chain may be the last stubborn holdout to digital transformation. Ask any logistics frontline worker, and they’ll tell you their outdated technologies create more manual work than they have time for. Transportation and logistics industry…
COVID-19 smashed through our generally accepted best business practices last year, and the virus doesn’t appear to be done with us yet. It’s time for IT to consider the pandemic as business agility becomes more necessary than ever. We’ve seen even…
The key performance indicators (KPIs) that roll up to a CIO are — and should be — a strategic priority for any organization interested in digitally transforming itself. Measuring KPIs is a metrics-driven approach that has proven effective for every…
The way we conduct business is changing, and it’s happening at an unprecedented pace. Such change would typically take years, and it would be a gradual process. However, due to the onset of COVID starting in late 2019, businesses throughout the US…
Digital transformation starts with a comprehensive assessment of your IT architectures. An IT infrastructure assessment reviews and analyzes the effectiveness of your current technology systems. It is the beginning of a critical process toward the…
In 2020, COVID-19 pummeled infrastructure and operations (I&O) as organizations shifted their workforce to remote arrangements to accommodate shelter-in-place strategies. The latest data tells us that our workforce will continue operating…
From an operations standpoint, 2020 has emerged as arguably the most momentous year for businesses. While the pandemic rattled every industry sector, IT felt some particularly severe tremors. Organizations had to trim budgets and devise new…
It’s not been business as usual for IT infrastructures over the past few years. The escalation of cloud and hybrid models, cybersecurity concerns, consumer behavioral shifts, and the increasing demands for digital transformation have challenged and…
Finding ways to reduce costs and optimize spending is not new for chief information officers (CIOs); however, this year has significantly altered the way many businesses view their budgets and how they will approach spending going into the new year…
The c-suite has faced many business and organizational challenges during COVID-19, and the truth is, we’re not done yet. Shelter-in-place orders caused many companies to scramble to activate a work-from-home mindset while adjusting to market…