Archive for December, 2011

Fire blacks out Airtel network, again

December 28th, 2011

Around 36 lakh customers of Bharti Airtel across the state’s western region woke up to a network outage on Tuesday. The services of the telecom company were disrupted after a fire — the second in three years — broke out in its data centre at Malad around 2.30am.No one was injured in the mishap.

Apart from voice calling service, data facilities such as GPRS, 3G and CDMA were hit. Voice calling service had partially started by evening. BlackBerry customers in Mumbai too were affected. The fire officials said short-circuit could be the cause of the fire.

The fire broke out on the fourth floor of the seven-storey building. The blaze broke out in the 2,000sqm-server room, damaging the entire electrical installation. “The wiring on the wall and the ceiling, all the electrical installations and cables were damaged,” said a senior fire official.

Although the fire was a minor one, it took the fire department around six hours to douse it. “The inbuilt gas separation system was not functional so we could not find the source of fire. The equipment automatically switches on at the time of fire and separates smoke,” the official added.

The fire rescue operation was completed at 7.08am.

“Employees were working at the Business Processing Outsourcing unit and around a thousand people were in the building when the fire broke out. We rescued all of them,” said HN Muzawar, chief fire officer.

However till late evening, Airtel customers were grappling with network woes. Angry customers flooded Airtel’s official website on Tweeter with their critical remarks.

Airtel customer Anish Garg was out of town and his work was stuck due to connectivity problem. “I was expecting an important call from work. I wasn’t left with any option but to get a new telecom connection,” said Garg.

Airtel spokesperson couldn’t say when the services would be resumed.

“Mobile voice, BlackBerry and SMS services have largely been restored and are stabilising. We are working towards restoring 2G & 3G data services later tonight. However, for the enterprise services such as IPLC, leased lines, MPLS and Internet services, restoration work is in progress and services are likely to be restored in the next 24 hours,” said Airtel.

This is for the second time in three years that Airtel services were hit due to fire. In July 2008, a fire broke out at Airtel’s office at Peninsula tower. It had taken the company a month to rectify the network snag.

Source:http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_fire-blacks-out-airtel-network-again_1630752

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Market retracts from 1-1/2-week high

December 27th, 2011

Volatility continued as key benchmark trimmed losses after hitting fresh intraday lows in mid-afternoon trade. The BSE Sensex was provisionally down 88.74 points or 0.56%, off about 170 points from the day’s high and up closet to 80 points from the day’s low. The market reversed direction after hitting 1-1/2 week high in mid-morning trade. The market breadth was negative.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) edged lower. Metal stocks reversed intraday gains. Interest rate sensitive banking stocks edged lower on fears of increase in bad loans in a slowing economy. Realty shares fell on profit booking after recent gains. Multiplex shares spurted on reports Shah Rukh Khan’s action thriller Don 2 garner box office collection of Rs. 48.39 crore in its opening weekend.

The market edged lower in early trade on weak Asian shares. After a bout of initial volatility, key benchmark indices alternately moved between positive and negative terrain near the flat line in morning trade. The barometer index fell below the psychological 16,000 mark, after regaining that mark in mid-morning trade. The Sensex alternately moved between positive and negative terrain in early afternoon trade. Key benchmark indices weakened to fresh intraday lows in afternoon trade. A bout of volatility was witnessed as key benchmark weakened again to hit fresh intraday lows in mid-afternoon trade after erasing almost all the intraday losses in afternoon trade. The market trimmed losses after hitting fresh intraday lows in mid-afternoon trade.

Volatility may remain high this week as traders roll over positions in futures & options (F&O) segment from the near-month December 2011 series to January 2012 series. The near-month December 2011 F&O contracts expire on Thursday, 29 December 2011.
As per provisional figures, the BSE Sensex was down 88.74 points or 0.56% at 15,882.01. The index rose 78.37 points at the day’s high of 16,049.12 in mid-morning trade, its highest level since 16 December 2011. The index fell 171.12 points at the day’s low of 15,799.63 in mid-afternoon trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty was down 28.30 points or 0.59% to 4,750.70, as per provisional figures. The Nifty hit a high of 4,800.50 in intraday trade, its highest level since 16 December 2011. The index hit a low of 4,723.65 in intraday trade.
The BSE clocked turnover of Rs. 1336 crore, higher than Rs. 1287.57 crore on Monday, 26 December 2011.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 1,524 shares declined and 1,129 shares advanced. A total of 136 shares were unchanged. The breadth was positive earlier in the day.
Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 22 fell while the rest of them rose.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 0.91% to Rs. 754, off the day’s high of Rs. 768.80. Gas output from Reliance Industries’ eastern offshore KG-D6 gas field has fallen to a fresh low of 38.66 million cubic metres per day during the week ended 18 December 2011, as the company has shut down five wells due to water ingress, a news agency report says citing a status report filed by the company with the Oil Ministry. The director general of hydrocarbons S.K. Srivastava last week said that RIL is planning workover operations to revive sick wells at its D6 block in the Krishna-Godavari basin, off India’s east coast. Srivastava said production at the KG-D6 block may increase post the workover program.

RIL late last month said that it has initiated arbitration proceedings against the government to seek an independent view of a tribunal on the issue of the company’s entitlement of recovery of entire costs on KG-D6 gas blocks from the revenue generated from the blocks. RIL said it has initiated arbitration proceedings against the Government of India (GoI) in a bid to finally resolve the cost recovery issue so as not to hinder future investments in this block.
RIL said its investment in KG-D6 production facilities has been only partly recovered and the return on the investment so far is less than the cost of the capital. The production sharing contract (PSC) with the Government of India (GoI) contains no provision which entitles the GoI to restrict the costs recovered by the company by reference to factors such as the level of production or the extent to which field facilities are utilised, RIL said.

Pharma stocks declined on reports that more than 500 Indian drug companies will have to collectively pay over Rs. 4000 crore in dues after a high court shot down their petition challenging penalty notices sent by drug authorities for overcharging. Cipla, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries shed by between 0.17% to 2.69%.
IT stocks reversed intraday gains. India’s second largest software services exporter by revenues Infosys fell 0.47%. The company said last week its business process outsourcing subsidiary — Infosys BPO has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding share capital in Australia-based Portland Group Pty, a leading provider of strategic sourcing and category management services. The purchase consideration for the deal is Australian dollar (AUD) 37 million. Portland Group reported revenue of about AUD 31.3 million for the year ended 30 June 2011.
India’s third largest software services exporter by revenues Wipro declined 0.05%.
India’s largest software services exporter by revenues Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) shed 1%. TCS early last week announced that it will expand its operations in the state of Maharashtra by building a new software development campus in Nagpur with an investment of Rs. 600 crore in the first phase.
Engineering and construction major, L&T, rose 0.38% after the company said during market hours today that its shipbuilding arm — L&T Shipbuilding will sign technological collaboration agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan. Mitsubishi will provide a broad range of technological support services for the construction of commercial vessels, L&T said in a statement.
Metal stocks reversed intraday gains. Tata steel, Sterlite Industries (India), Nalco, Hindustan Zinc, Jindal Saw, Hindalco Industries, Sail and JSW Steel dropped by between 0.32% to 3.31%.
Realty shares fell on profit booking after recent gains. Indiabulls Real Estate, DLF, Unitech, HDIL and D B Realty dropped by between 0.68% to 5.61%. The BSE Realty index had jumped 6.07% in the preceding four sessions to 1,450.45 on 26 December 2011 from a recent low of 1,367.39 on 20 December 2011.
Interest rate sensitive banking stocks edged lower on fears of increase in bad loans in a slowing economy. India’s second largest private sector bank by branch network HDFC Bank shed 0.78%. The bank raised interest rates on non-resident savings deposits to 9% from 3.82% from Friday, 23 December 2011, taking advantage of recent deregulation to attract dollars.
India’s largest commercial bank by net profit and branch network State bank of India (SBI) dropped 1.48%. The bank will raise term deposit rates for non-resident external accounts by up to 574 basis points from 1 January 2012. Deposits below Rs. 1 crore will earn interest rates of 9.25%. Deposits above Rs. 1 crore will earn 9% for 1-2 years maturity from 3.82% earlier, SBI said in a press release.
The Reserve Bank of India deregulated interest rates on non-resident external (NRE) rupee deposits and ordinary non-resident accounts earlier this month to provide greater flexibility to banks to attract dollars
India’s largest private sector bank by branch network ICICI Bank declined 0.65%. Federal Bank, Union Bank of India, Axis Bank and IndusInd Bank shed by between 2.07% to 4.25%.
Multiplex shares spurted on reports Shah Rukh Khan’s action thriller Don 2 garner box office collection of Rs. 48.39 crore in its opening weekend. Fame India, Inox Leisure, and Cinemax India rose by between 6.87% to 19.97%. According to reports, the film earned Rs. 15.30 crore Friday, Rs. 15.09 crore on Saturday and approximately Rs. 18 crore Sunday, making a grand total of Rs. 48.39 crore. Reports suggest that the occupancy in theatres has been around 90%.
Foreign funds bought shares worth Rs. 113.43 crore on Monday, 26 December 2011, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. FIIs had bought shares worth Rs. 84.27 crore on Friday, 23 December 2011. Earlier, FIIs were net sellers for ten days in a row from 9 to 22 December 2011. FIIs have sold shares worth a net Rs. 1488.91 crore so far this month (till 26 December 2011), as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
The next major trigger for the market is Q3 December 2011 corporate earnings which will start tricking from second week of January 2012. The focus will be on guidance from the company managements on outlook for the remaining part of the year and for the next year. Advance tax collection from the country’s top 100 companies, as per the final numbers, declined by 1.4% to Rs. 30763 crore in the third quarter of 2011-12, indicating sluggishness in economy. Advance taxes are collected in four installments — 15% by 15 June; 40% by 15 September; 75% by 15 December and 100% by 15 March.
A government statement in parliament last month dashed hopes of a relief in securities transaction tax (STT). Junior finance minister S.S. Palanimanickam has said that the government has no proposal to lower the securities transaction tax (STT). There has been a speculation that the government will reduce STT in Union Budget 2012-2013 in a bid to revive sagging volumes on the bourses. Palanimanickam said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha that the securities transaction tax receipts had declined by around 18% to Rs. 2960 crore during the first six months in the current fiscal year from a year ago period.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Thursday, 22 December 2011 he was disappointed to hear negative comments from industry leaders that the government’s policies were leading to a slowdown. Singh, who met members of his Trade and Industry Council, said such comments strengthened negative forces who had no stake in the country’s development. The UPA government has been battling criticism over its handling of the economy and the perception of policy paralysis in the aftermath of a string of scandals which hit the headlines since last year. Several top industrialists had written to the government expressing frustration at the slow pace of reforms and the gloomy atmosphere.
Credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service on 14 December 2011 said that the recent sharp decline in the value of the Indian rupee against the dollar is generally exerting only a moderate impact on rated Indian companies. Risks for companies holding large amounts of dollar denominated debt are also manageable in the near term, given that debt maturities are limited for this time frame, Moody’s said in a new report. This means Indian companies rated by Moody’s do not have a significant dollar outflow at a time when the Indian rupee is losing ground.
The infrastructure sector output grew 6.8% in November from a year earlier, sharply higher than the annual growth of 3.7% in November last year, data released by the government on Monday, 26 December 2011, showed. The infrastructure sector accounts for 37.9% of India’s industrial output.
The food inflation eased sharply to 1.81% in the year to 10 December 2011, from an annual 4.35% rise in the previous week, government data showed on Thursday, 22 December 2011. The fuel inflation remained unchanged at 15.24% in the latest week compared with the prior week, data showed, while the primary articles price index rose 3.78%, compared with an annual rise of 5.48% in the previous week.

At its mid-quarterly monetary policy review meet on Friday, 16 December 2011, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left its main lending rate unchanged in order to support faltering economic growth as inflation shows signs of cooling. While inflation remains on its projected trajectory, downside risks to growth have clearly increased, RBI said in a statement. From this point on, monetary policy actions are likely to reverse the cycle, responding to the risks to growth, RBI said.
RBI said inflation risks remain high and inflation could quickly recur as a result of both supply and demand forces. RBI also said that the rupee remains under stress. The timing and magnitude of further actions will depend on a continuing assessment of how these factors shape up in the months ahead, RBI said. The RBI has raised rates 13 times since March 2010.
India may face the risk of stagflation if the government doesn’t take urgent steps to tame inflation and stimulate growth, a parliamentary panel on finance warned on Thursday, 22 December 2011. The Standing Committee on Finance blamed the Reserve Bank of India’s 13 interest-rate increases over the past 21 months for stalling economic growth. Measures taken by the government and the RBI so far have squarely failed to rescue the economy from unabated inflation. Instead, monetary measures initiated for this purpose have only resulted in worsening the condition of the economy further, the report said.
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday, 25 December 2011, said he did not think there was any problem in presenting the Budget for 2012-13 on schedule in the wake of the announcement of assembly elections in five states. Mukherjee, however, said the date for the presentation of the budget will be fixed after discussions at various levels. The Union Budget is presented on the last date of February every year.
The Election Commission on Saturday, 24 December 2011, announced the dates for the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa. Uttar Pradesh will have polling on February 4, 8, 11, 15, 19, 23 and 28, while Uttarakhand and Punjab will go to polls on January 30. Manipur will have polls on January 28 and Goa on March 3.
European stocks advanced for a third day on Tuesday, 27 December 2011, before reports that may show house prices in US cities fell at a slower pace and US consumer confidence climbed. Key benchmark indices in France and Germany rose by between 0.51% to 0.59%. London markets remained closed for a holiday.
House prices in the UK fell in December, the latest survey results from property researcher Hometrack showed. Prices fell 0.2% month-over-month in December, the same pace of decline recorded in both October and November. Annually, prices fell 2.1% slower than the 2.3% fall reported in November. Separately, French jobless claims rose to a 12-year high in November amid economic slowdown, data from labor ministry revealed. The number of unemployed rose by 29,900 or 1.1% to 2.85 million in November. On an annual basis, unemployment increased 5.2%.
Asian shares edged lower on Tuesday, 27 December 2011, in thin volume as investors took to the sidelines before US markets reopen later in the day from a long weekend and data which could offer clues over growth prospects in the world’s largest economy. Key benchmark indices in Singapore, Indonesia, China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan fell by between 0.11% to 1.09%. Hong Kong market remained closed for a holiday.
Investors will be looking for more positive signs from US data this week, including the S&P Case-Shiller house price index for October and consumer confidence for December.

Source:http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/Market-retracts-from-1-12-week-high/4088718865

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Buy HCL Tech; target Rs 470: PINC

December 27th, 2011

PINC Research has maintained `Buy` on HCL Technologies with a price target of Rs 470 as against the current market price (CMP) of Rs 388 in its report dated Dec. 27, 2011. The broking house gave the following rationale:

“Deal renewals and emerging technologies to drive long term growth“

IT budgets expected to be flat; deal renewals to drive the growth:

In light of the current macroeconomic environment, HCL Tech expects overall IT budgets to be flat for CY12. The company believes that the growth would be driven by Indian IT vendors grabbing a larger share of the mega deals coming up for renewal over the next couple of years. Positioning of HCL Tech as a total IT outsourcing partner along with cost efficiencies due to higher off-shoring would give it a competitive edge over the global peers.

Continue to win large deals, mostly in renegotiations:

HCL Tech has signed a 5 years deal with AstraZeneca for managing its data centers across 60 global locations. Apart from the hosting, migration and collaboration services, the company would deliver transformational projects like server virtualization and implementation of hybrid cloud.

Run-the-Business doing well; thrust on emerging technologies:

While offerings like IMS and custom applications are doing well, growth in Enterprise application services is expected to be subdued. The company is looking for acquisitions in the areas of Analytics & Cloud Computing in Nordic Europe, France & Germany.

Utilization, off-shoring & rupee depreciation to support margins:

HCL Tech has scope for further improvement in utilization levels and increasing the share of offshore revenues. Along with these factors, depreciation of rupee would provide margin benefits. As per Q1FY12, the company has hedged USD 713 million which includes hedges for around 40% of inflows for one year.

Outlook and Recommendation:

HCL Tech by leveraging its strength in Run-the-Business offerings would be able to tide over the slowdown expected in discretionary spending. Also, the company is very well positioned to grab higher share of deal renewals from the incumbent vendors. We maintain `BUY` recommendation on the stock with a target price of Rs 470 based on 13x FY13E EPS of Rs 36.1.

Source:http://www.myiris.com/newsCentre/storyShow.php?fileR=20111227160150715&dir=2011/12/27

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Computer Sciences Expecting Resistance Soon?

December 27th, 2011

Shares of Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE:CSC) closed the trading session at $26.48 near its 50 day moving average currently set at $27.28. Computer Sciences’ price action is below this important level, which makes the stock difficult to buy, as there will certainly be resistance as it approaches its 50 day.

Computer Sciences Corporation (NYSE:CSC) provides consulting and information technology (IT) services to industry and government. The Company provides consulting, systems design and integration, IT and business process outsourcing, applications software, and Web and application hosting.

Latest price action range, defined by a peaks and troughs algorithm places calculated support at $24.60 and calculated resistance at $26.60. These levels will be closely watched by traders, as they provide great insight into the latest price dynamics defined by Computer Sciences shares.

Traders should evaluate their trade if they want to establish a position on Computer Sciences given the resistance expected as the stock approaches the 50 day moving average. A trade might materialize as the stock manages to break this important level, as it could be used as support going forward, however until the break materializes buying the stock is nothing different than flipping a coin. Other levels that traders will be evaluating are the ones defined by the peak and troughs algorithm that provides great price level reference points.

Source:http://www.tradershuddle.com/Trading-Ideas/35796012272011-computersciences-expecting-resistance-soon.html

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IT Outsourcing in Ukraine: Prospects and expectations

December 27th, 2011

Outsourcing has been and remains the most promising trend in the IT-industry. Ability to see this introduced in 2009, when the background of general decline in the cost of information technology segment of the IT-outsourcing to keep up the pace. Having survived the crisis, outsourcing, and to this day remains one of the key drivers of growth of the Ukrainian IT market.

Resistant outsourcing

Being in the ranking of 30 countries that are best suited for IT-outsourcing, Ukraine has once again confirmed its status by winning the 2011 nomination of “Destination for IT-outsourcing” within the European Outsourcing Excellent Awards. Not the last role was played by a high level of professional development, competitive prices, and rich reserves of manpower and geographical location. For example, last year the growth of outsourcing industry has reached about 20-25%.

Active development of IT-outsourcing in Ukraine partly attributable to companies with western capital, which prefer to focus on core business, shifting automated processes on the shoulders of IT-outsourcers with the necessary level of service of special systems. In turn, this reduces the cost of routine operations, improve business processes and get more services in the shortest possible time. However, a certain percentage of companies with Ukrainian capital is still opposed to contractors, believing that outsourcing is unreasonably expensive, and assign to important infrastructure projects to staff members, out of habit considering IT department as a cost center, providing infrastructural functions, rather than a source of business advantage.

This position is with respect to system integration impact on the share of orders in the portfolios of system integrators. The main customers of outsourcing services today are foreign companies, big banks, industrial, energy and insurance companies. However, despite the odds, Ukrainian companies are increasingly showing an interest in IT-outsourcing, understanding the advantages and economic benefits of work with relevant experts. In connection with such distribution to estimate the real amount of IT-outsourcing market today is quite problematic. This is primarily due to the fact that most customers of these services use mixed scheme involving contracting companies and a large part of the functions performed by their IT-departments. In addition, an extensive number of companies use the services as freelancers and smaller regional services outsourcers.

Organizational issues

To date, the greatest demand among IT-outsourcing services are building IT-infrastructure, support for remote offices, information security and maintained equipment. Also in high demand projects, which ensure a relatively rapid return on investment, provide a clear and immediate impact on business processes.

In Ukraine, are in demand both types of outsourcing – partial and full. Under full outsourcing to a third party means a transfer of all service processes of IT-infrastructure company, while partial outsourcing – is attracting a service company to service a particular part of the company’s information system.

Business structures are trying to adjust to international standards of best practice library organizations IT (ITIL), which describes the best practices applied in ways of organizing work units or companies providing services in information technology.

In ITIL standards included in the division line of support in the processing of applications users. Thus, the first line of support can be performed by regular employees, since it does not require high technical skills and technical expertise in outsourcing. The main task of the first line of support – to let the user as quickly as possible to continue. At the same time, the second and third line tasked with the elimination of technical failures in the infrastructure, which may affect the users of IT-provided services. Therefore, these support lines are composed of specialized teams of technical specialists, each of which has a high IT competence in the specific area of infrastructure.

But no matter what kind of IT outsourcing company nor used in any case it has two major advantages: cost savings on maintenance information system and obtaining a stable and quality of service.

How to choose a company-outsourcer

When selecting an outsourcing company, you must consider several key factors. The company should have many years of experience in projects of high complexity for various clients and have a portfolio of successfully completed projects for diverse organizations. Equally important is the qualification of experts, on which may indicate the presence of certifications and partnerships with leading hardware manufacturers and software developers. When selecting a system integrator is also important to consider not only the use by the best international practices, but also our own know-how. Equally important is the rapid response – the time, claimed the company to perform work at the facility, as well as control over the entire period of work at the facility.

Source:http://ubr.ua/business-practice/innovation-in-business/i-autsorsing-v-kraine-perspektivy-i-nadejdy-117224

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Global slowdown in BFSI space worries IT players

December 27th, 2011

With the financial sector in turmoil in the west, worries are building in the IT industry over the sustainability of revenues from banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector in 2012.

The Indian IT industry draws the bulk of its sustenance from the BFSI sector. About 70 per cent of revenues of IT firms come from the US and Europe, and the BFSI segment contributes about 30 to 35 per cent of it.

“There will be a slowdown if the crisis persists. The major impact will be across verticals, but to be precise the BFSI front will be impacted the most. The emerging market is not a major concern for us. Mature markets such as US and Europe contributes 60 to 80 per cent of revenues for all Indian IT companies. So, it is the slowdown there which will affect us,” said Ganesh Murthy, CFO, MphasiS.

“Another major concern will be if these countries adopt policies of protectionism. They will not outsource much. Added to that worry is that the domestic market is also not growing,” he said.

Recently US legislators introduced the call centre worker and consumer protection bill. The bill aims to disincentivise companies that move call centres overseas by making them ineligible for grants or guaranteed loans from the government.

“We sense that IT budgets may be marginally up for some verticals and flat-to-marginally down for others. Verticals such as banking and finance might slash their IT budgets,” iGate CEO Phaneesh Murthy told Financial Chronicle in a recent interview. Infosys recently admitted a deep impact from the Europen slowdown.

An IT analyst, who didn’t want to be named, said BFSI is one of the major verticals contributing to top lines of software companies.

Asked if there are risks of outsourcing projects going to other low-cost countries, he said Indian IT firms have established good relations with clients.

Deloitte India senior director PN Sudarshan said: “Firms have reported a more controlled approach to IT spending since the 2008 crisis and enterprises may need to resume spending. However, their approach is likely to remain controlled and focused on leaner IT investments. Consequently, cloud-based solutions (off-premise-on-tap models) are likely to continue to gain favour.”

Infosys did not respond to questions as it is in silent period. The company goes into silent period ahead of its quarterly results.

Source:http://www.mydigitalfc.com/news/global-slowdown-bfsi-space-worries-it-players-867

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4 questions that SMEs should be outsourced to suppliers

December 27th, 2011

You would not hire a new employee without first asking some questions. The same should be used for small businesses that outsource most – or all – of their IT functions.

In fact, the use of managed service providers (MSPs, the acronym in English) and the contract from other companies as an outsourced extension of your internal team is an approach that can produce better long-term results. This approach begins with a thorough interview.
Vince Plaza, VP of IT TeamLogic IT services provider focused on domestic small and medium-sized enterprises, shared four critical questions you should do – and a handful of other important considerations – before choosing an IT outsourcing company.

1. “Why are you better?” Plaza said the owners and managers of SMEs should not be shy in asking potential suppliers, “Why you?” “What makes you better, smarter and faster than the competitors? “. Providers who do not get angry or show how to respond is sending a warning signal.

“These issues offer SMEs an additional level of comfort and confidence about what vendors can do,” says Plaza during the interview.

2. “How will you help me stay up to date?” IT is always evolving; Plaza stresses that any external supplier should not only agree with that sentiment, but must be prepared to explain how they will adapt to changes and needs of your company over time, even if it means keeping pace with the changing trends, supporting new business strategies, or any other requirements.

Plaza says the following issues should be part of the interview: “How will you help me stay current and ensure that their solutions are better suited to my needs are always met? As the technology will achieve our business goals? “.

3. “How can you help us achieve ROI?” The best IT providers are beyond the deployment. (”Here are your PCs, and network applications. Good luck!”) In particular, they should be able to help you understand how you will get a return on your technology investment, which is nothing more than an alignment your project and business objectives.

“I just want to buy hardware and software for your company,” said Plaza. “I want to know what to do for my business.” Better yet: “How do I use this technology so that I can make money to pay the bills?”

4. “When I call you, who will answer the phone?” If you want to trust their technology in an outside company, it is necessary to understand how they run their internal operations. Specifically, ask about your team and who will drive business to your company’s day-to-day.
According to the executive, it is necessary to ask the following question: “You must wait for someone on your staff respond to my needs ? “.

These are the things you should keep in mind, according to Plaza. But that does not necessarily mean that the interview should end there. You probably have a few questions specific to your business and your needs. You may also want to adjust their questions according to their plans, if all services are outsourced or your company will keep some important responsibilities. If you are looking for a supplier, be sure to ask if there is something they do not.

Other considerations include location and supplier partnerships. Plaza still recommends going with an IT provider that has at least some physical presence in your local area. “There are many things that can be done remotely,” he said. “But we found that most customers who enjoy close business needs that personal touch, where one place is enough that they can visit them on a regular basis or have someone at work rather quickly to solve something that is not can be done remotely. ”

Align the supplier is not a big problem, according to Plaza. Many SMEs will support the major players such as Microsoft, Google, and so on. That said, if you know you’re looking for a specific system or application – for example, you only want to use Cisco gear for deploying voice over IP – check if the provider supports. If you do not have any particular vendor, then the requirements become much simpler.

Source:http://informationweek.itweb.com.br/6382/4-perguntas-que-as-pmes-devem-fazer-aos-fornecedores-de-outsourcing/

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