Cloud computing for you?

The Cloud’s been around for a while now, and slowly we’re getting to see some good case studies demonstrating the value of hosting your services out-of-office. NASA’s Shared Services Center, intent on increasing self-service opportunities to NASA employees, has utilized cloud technology to develop a Web-based tool that puts nearly 1,000 FAQs at the fingertips of website end users as part of the NSSC Information Center. The new functionality, which was developed using a cloud Software as a Service, represents the NSSC’s most aggressive website enhancement to date. Read all about it online, this month.

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Premium Content

Utilizing a service portfolio
The Program Support Center (PSC) provides support services to all components of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other Federal government agencies worldwide. PSC has a broad range of nearly 60 services and products, which include: administrative operations, health resources, information technology support, financial management, and strategic acquisitions. PSC is a shared services organization dedicated to helping customers achieve mission-critical results. Like many shared service organizations, the Program Support Center off ers a portfolio of services that exist to support our customers’ programs. To do this, the PSC constantly has to make decisions about where to invest public dollars, talent and management time. This paper shows the approach that PSC took to such a decision process.

The road to recovery: Building on Cost Optimization
Austria-based OMV is one of Central Europe’s leading oil and gas organizations, with operations in 30 countries. Operating both upstream and downstream, the OMV’s annual revenue is 25.5 billion Euros (2008). Johann Kandelsdorfer, CIO of the OMV group and MD of its multi-functional Global Solutions team — also a speaker at SSON’s recent Shared Services Exchange in Europe — reflects on last year, and shares his global services
strategy for 2010.

Desperately Seeking Innovation  
Phil Fersht, long-time voice of the BPO industry — his blog, "Horses for Sources", with over 33,000 subscribers, was launched three and a half years ago — set up Horses for Sources Research in March 2010. Off ering specialist analyst advisory services to the BPO industry, HfS is partnering with SSON on leading edge research. A recent report on innovation — "Desperately Seeking Innovation in Business Process Outsourcing: Enterprises Speak Out" — canvassed the views and experiences of 588 shared services and outsourcing executives, including Shared Services and Outsourcing Network members. Barbara Hodge reports

Driver Insight — Not Oversight
By Diarmuid Barry, President and Executive Director Business Development, ServiceFrame OUTSOURCING GOVERNANCE: WHAT IS WORLD-CLASS? Why do some outsourcing relationships succeed while others fail? In a multibillion dollar industry, where relationships can be valued in the hundreds of millions, this is a question that garners a great deal of commentary from providers, clients, advisors and analysts. Great Sourcing and Change Management are, of course, essential; but a critical element — and one that has not always received the attention, mindshare, and investment that it deserves — is Governance.

Business Process Management in Shared Services
Adaptability and Flexibility
By: Oscar Vincenti, Business Processes Manager, Cemex It was Darwin who fi rst commented on a basic characteristic when it came to survival: "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent -- it is the one that  is more adaptable to change." All organizations, regardless of size or industry, are faced with the challenge of adapting to the "new realities" facing them today, and possibly over the next few years, as a result of recent changes in their markets. Initial reactions include shedding costs and people to properly size the organization for these new realities. But what are the consequences? How can shared services help the  organization adapt to its new "sizing" and other challenges quickly?

Panel Discussion: The Talent Game
At the 12th Annual Asian Shared Services Week Asia that took place in Singapore in September, a group of leading practitioners sat down to discuss challenges Asian operators are facing in the "Talent Game." Participants came from Merck Sharp & Dohme, Citigroup, Quintell Business Intelligence, and Kelly Outsourcing and Consulting Group – all based in Asia. Participants have requested that the transcript preserve their anonymity.

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