For the first time, last year’s US workforce had more millennials (aged 18-30) than Baby Boomers. This generation of workers has arrived in full force. In fact, by 2020, they are projected to make up half the global workforce.
The third Wednesday of every month – specifically, at 3pm UK time – is rapidly becoming a regular high point on my personal schedule – “Why?”, I hear you ask (the NSA have lent me some really cool eavesdropping kit…).
In so many ways the business world is smaller and more accessible in the modern era – a place where even tiny online companies can trade globally, where people travel for work as a matter of routine and where businesses become international by outsourcing tasks across all seven continents.
In April we celebrated Earth Day, “a movement that continues to inspire, challenge ideas, ignite passion and motivate people to action.” With the environment in mind, it seems fitting to address the realities of a paperless office, and how we can utilise automated technology to reduce waste paper.
“Eat or be eaten” – for centuries, this “law of the jungle” was the law of the business world, too. Beating the competition delivered power, money and influence. From the Square Mile to Wall Street, survival of the fittest meant there was only room for one victor at the top. The digital revolution changed this. Measuring success in today’s business world is no longer by the job or task performed for money. We value successful leaders for their contributions to the world as a whole and the manner of its making. What we do and how we do it matters.
Outsource: Atul, thank you very much for joining Outsource today at the SIG Summit. Can you start by introducing yourself and telling our readers a bit about NeoGroup?
Who are Blue Prism? The company isn’t yet a household name, but in automation circles it is something of a trailblazer. They actually coined the term “robotic process automation” back in 2012, and the early evangelists of RPA (such as HfS and Ovum) rapidly seized on Blue Prism case studies as the first signs of something new stirring in the world of automation. Live Wires caught up with Pat Geary, CMO at Blue Prism, to understand who they are and where they are heading.
Forty-seven years ago, J.C.R. Licklider had a vision that the entire world could be connected through an “intergalactic computer network”, allowing users to access programs and data from any site, from anywhere and at any time. Today, this vision has evolved into a reality, and echoes similarities to what we call “cloud computing.”
Business leaders and technology executives are deluged by the rhetoric about disruptive digital technologies coming of age, companies and whole industries going digital.
Maturing and new technology tools, combined with rapidly changing technology usage patterns of businesses and consumers, are forcing a rethink, even a re-imagination of what companies can do. Obviously there are leaders and there are followers, with every success story probably preceded by unsung failures.
Outsource: Bill, it’s great to see you again here at the SIG Summit. Lots of interesting things have happened recently over at Alsbridge [see our interview with CEO Chip Wagner here]: how have these changes affected what you’ve been doing?
Robotic process automation (RPA) is a new type of software that acts as a virtual workforce. It is the hottest ticket in the already hype-fuelled world of automation, and some would say that in the next two to three years it is going to become an integral part of your operations – whether in-house, shared services or outsourced. But who is driving RPA? And if the future is RPA, who is going to make it happen so quickly?
After lunch, the group assembled back in the conference room. Most spent some time reading through the poster on the wall, looking for more clues to help them improve.
“Ready to get started,” I said, as the group grabbed their seats.
“On to people,” Tyler announced, with a tone indicating he could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“Yes, on to the ‘People’ column in the mosaic. Just as we defined who your key customers are, we need to define the key positions and roles in your company.”
A look at the picture below shows that design thinking is all about starting with the customer and ending with the customer. This really sounds like very old wine in a new bottle. But, please do remember: a lot of very old wine actually tastes really good. The offshoring/outsourcing industry has grown significantly. However, the industry still struggles to show the value-add - and more so prove that it is adding value to its customers.
Yesterday it was my extreme pleasure to host the second in our Outsource Talks webinar series – this time, live from the SIG Summit in Orlando, Florida (which at the time of publishing still has almost a full day to go, so keep an eye on Twitter and the hashtag #SIGspring16 for a taste of what’s going on) – featuring the magnificent Linda Tuck Chapman, Matt Shocklee and
To read the first part of this article, click here.
Walking into the conference room the following week, I bumped into Jenny and Alex, two regional managers who worked for Tyler.
“Good morning.”
“Hi there, Dean,” Jenny said, smiling and walking over.
“Just looking over the big poster,” Alex said.
“You mean the mosaic, Alex,” Jenny said, correcting him.
