Integrated Global Delivery
Global IT services
IT Services have gone global and every serious IT services player has a global delivery model. Terms like near-shore, far-shore, multi-shore, right-shore, best-shore litter sales collateral; everyone has a high quality Offshore Delivery Centre; everyone is globally integrated. The picture is of a market that has matured into a level playing field, where global sourcing is painless and the world is flat...
We have a different view.
Next door global delivery
From the founding of ekSource, we have always been a hybrid US/Indian company, jointly managed and structured as a single horizontally integrated organization. Single vision, single values, single culture, single management, single quality systems. Our Indian and US teams work side by side (often two-in-a-box) to deliver services to our Customers.
In contrast most IT service providers are entering the global services arena either as an offshore company with an onsite presence or an onshore company with an offshore facility/partner. There are a number of problems inherent in both these models.
Direct line to service failure
With a traditional direct offshore engagement model where a US Customer contracts directly with an offshore supplier, problems in service are typically driven by the offshore suppliers lack of US domain knowledge, limited capability in effective customer relationships, inadequate delivery management capability, differences in language and culture and often fundamental disconnects in values and mutual understanding. This is often further compounded by the Customers lack of experience running an end-to-end service delivery operation with an offshore component, and managing an overseas supplier effectively. These issues are especially acute where the Customer has a requirement for rapid, bespoke application development to meet dynamic business needs. In these instances outsourcing is not simply about reducing the maintenance costs of steady-state systems, but of providing an enhanced capability (quality/capacity/efficiency) that is responsive to business needs. The danger in offshore outsourcing in this context is that the service delivery teams become further disconnected from, and less able to serve, the needs of the end business customer.
Onshore brokers add limited value
The alternative model, to engage with a local service provider with an offshore facility/partner, is often equally unsatisfactory. This is because unless both onshore and offshore organizations are highly integrated and experienced in working with one another these structural issues and friction are simply subcontracted further down the supply chain. The truly globally integrated organization does not yet exist on a large scale and while industry leaders are beginning to wake up to the fact that multinational is not the same as globally integrated, the market is a long way from being mature in the regard. It is the Customer, of course, that ends up paying for this in higher baseline costs and an often unsatisfactory delivery outcome. Worse still, by engaging indirectly the Customer does not develop any experience in running an end-to-end service delivery operation with an offshore component.
Taking a pragmatic view
Our unique positioning as a hybrid US/Indian company has given us a deep understanding of the global IT services market. We recognize not only the benefits but also the pitfalls and limitations of global delivery models. This sensitizes us to the difficulties often faced by organizations in engaging with global suppliers and enables us to advise our Customers on a global delivery strategy that delivers the best balance between risk and reward. Furthermore, we have developed an integrated engagement and delivery model which provides creative solutions to many of the challenges and opportunities presented by global IT service delivery.
Integrated Global Delivery Model
Our Integrated Global Delivery Model, combines best of breed capabilities of US and Indian IT sectors into a Quality Management System and Knowledge Base that enables our Customers to integrate with global services rapidly, and at low risk, in a way that is tailored to the needs of their particular business. Key features of our Integrated Global Delivery Model include:
- Joined up trans-national delivery management teams
- Dedicated onsite Program & Customer Relationship Management team
- Cost-effective model & Time zone advantage
- Ready-to-use secure setup and infrastructure
- Access to a large and diverse pool of expertise, enabling quick setup
- Quick ramp up and ramp down
- Dedicated software teams with long-term focus. Enables knowledge retention Leverage on high-quality software processes
- Clearly defined knowledge transfer process and communication protocols
- Leverage on high quality software processes
- An integrated global quality management system for service delivery and customer engagement using common processes tailored to each Customers requirements
Best of both worlds
Our US teams innate business domain knowledge and cultural empathy enable them to bridge the divide, by facilitating communication, and break the ground, especially in new engagements. Experts in global services and the Indian cultural context, they also play a role in coaching Customers in successful offshore engagement. This provides our Customers with the best of both worlds - to capitalize on the benefits of ekSources best value offshore delivery capability whilst maintaining local accountability and support in the US.
We share the principles, practices, processes, tools and techniques behind successful Integrated Global Delivery with our Customers in order to build these capabilities into an integrated Customer and ekSource joint team operation.