Offering regional and national programs, CIO (and CSO) events bring together some of the most respected names and thought leaders in information technology and security. Presented by CIOs and other senior level executives, these invitation-only programs offer timely topics and strong networking. Learn More »
Public Council Teleconference: Application Rationalization — Hidden Costs and Smart Decisions
November 17 at 11:00 am US/Eastern (GMT-5)
Join Honorio Padrón, of The Hackett Group, who will share the drivers for companies to tackle application rationalization and the results of research that define the hidden cost of complexity. Additionally, we will discuss key decision milestones—to start or not, holding the course steady and fulfilling expectations.
Virtual Desktop Cost-Benefit Analysis — Michael Jacobs, Catlin Group
The analysis contained in this presentation measures the cost of everything from the machines and licenses to the infrastructure for virtual vs. traditional desktop environments.
Honor your best senior team members - Apply for the CIO Ones to Watch Award
Get well-earned public recognition for your top up-and-coming team members, your IT organization and your enterprise. Award winners will be announced, publicized and feted in May 2010, great timing to help attract new IT recruits to your company.
Learn more about the CIO Executive Council »January 07, 2009 — CIO —
In the current economic climate, one of the most important responsibilities for CIOs is to develop creative solutions to help their companies make it through tough business conditions. Most often those solutions involve cost reductions in the way business is done, and a common choice is to outsource IT functions or special projects.
In the world of IT outsourcing, costs are not just related to the price charged for the service—what is often just as important are the costs clients will bear associated with managing relationships with IT services providers. Coordinating work with your IT outsourcing partner can be a challenge, especially if the provider is located a significant distance from your company. And the synchronization of business hours and geographic locations can be key factors in getting the most from your IT outsourcing partnership—real-time communication and feasible business travel are crucial to effective and efficient collaboration of project teams.
The outsourcing of IT projects by North American companies to India, China and Hong Kong has been the norm for years, but today many of these businesses are realizing the benefits of near-shore IT outsourcing. Companies also want to mitigate risks and diversify their portfolio of vendors. Cost of labor in India is not as cheap as it used to be and the current geopolitical climate there may be a concern to executives in North America.
Near-shore IT outsourcing allows companies in North America to outsource work to countries in Latin America. Geographic proximity means that travel and communications are easier and less expensive, there are likely to be at least some commonalities between the cultures, and the partners are more likely to speak the same language.
Brazil in particular has fast become a major hub for cost-effective IT support for businesses in the U.S. and Canada, and a top-five location worldwide for IT outsourcing. Brazil has a low employee turnover rate and its IT professionals have a high degree of technical skills and business savvy. Sao Paulo has the second-largest community of Java programmers outside of the United States. And, because of a thriving financial and banking industry, Brazil's IT workforce includes many mainframe programmers as well.
North American companies are finding that the Brazilian business culture is also very similar to their own. Brazilian employees are quick to share their ideas to improve projects. If they believe projects can be done in a different, more efficient manner, they share their thoughts and work in collaboration with their project leaders. Executives that have outsourced offshore often mention that this can be a challenge in countries such as India, China and Hong Kong, where culturally employees are taught to follow the rules and guidelines presented to them by their employers.