The State of Sourcing

Having done a report earlier on e-discovery and document review, which is by far the most outsourced service in the legal services outsourcing domain, our next stop was most definitely going to be outsourcing of contract management – the next big thing in outsourcing of legal services. As we started speaking with the people who deal with contracts, some of the variations and facts that came out were mind boggling. Here are some examples –

• Contracts may need up to 5-10 drafts by conservative estimates
• Contracts may need up to a year to finalize
• Contract values range from USD 10 – 1,000 million
• Hundreds of types of contracts
• Legal team sizes ranging from 6 – 1000+
• More than 40 countries across which contracts are managed by a single firm

Continue reading ‘Contract outsourcing – outsource to manage better’ »

At the recent Global LPO conference 2010, held in New Delhi, the idea was to facilitate closer contact between buyers and vendors in the industry. The buyers spoke about their experiences and put forth their concerns. The vendors building upon experiences, offered advice to the potential buyers on how to approach, what to look out for, the value offered, etc. Among many other issues discussed, one that received attention from various speakers was – what do buyers and vendors need to do to facilitate a smooth and mutually beneficial relationship? 

The need to change and develop is something that cannot be stressed enough. For an industry as young as the LPO, and with the potential that it offers, the mantra is going beyond understanding customer needs. LPOs must stay ahead of the articulated needs. With most companies looking at outsourcing as a strategic move, they want it to contribute to their overall business performance. Outsourcing by and large has moved beyond the cost and labor arbitrage, and the same stands true for LPO industry. The idea is to move away from the tag of service providers to partners. Here we discuss just some of the many initiatives that LPOs need to take to start thinking and taking on the role of partners. 

Continue reading ‘LPOs need to think like partners’ »

The comparisons between Apple iPad and this $35 ‘still unnamed’ mobile device are so unfair. The online buzz about this new product is almost deafening. Ever since the Indian government announced the launch of the ‘$35 m -device’ (lets call it that, since it does not have a name yet, and this anyway seems to be the most exciting ‘fact’ about it), discussions abound on its viability, price, wasted funds, its not-so-successful predecessors, apps that it can offer and its future. While debate on all of these is justified, some more thoughts:

Why is cost such a big issue?

Continue reading ‘Education at $35… Dreaming big?’ »

The Union Human Resource Minister, Kapil Sibal has taken it upon himself to completely overhaul the Indian education system… a good and long-awaited move. The Right to Education Act (RTE) was indeed a major development in the scheme of things. This is another move towards making education universal, as primary education, something that many of us take for granted is actually out of bounds for millions others.

Recently the Minister talked about the need to recruit 2 million teachers to achieve the goals set out by the Act. The other requirement would be more schools… schools where students are actually taught, and not just decrepit buildings. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also expressed a desire to build 6500 ‘model’ schools. This is where the private players come in. That the Government will need help from the private sector to successfully implement RTE, hardly needs an intelligent analysis. What is debatable is – Will the PPP work? How will it work? And how long do we have to wait before it makes an impact? The problem, we cannot afford to lose any more time.

Continue reading ‘How long before PPP bridges the education demand supply gap?’ »

• Schools in West Asia and Gulf will be offering certification from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), with the formal launch of CBSE-I, the international brand of the board.
• The Foreign Education Providers (Regulatory) Bill that will allow foreign universities to open branches in India was recently approved by the cabinet. When this bill becomes a law after approval in the parliament, foreign universities will be able to enter the education market.

The developments in the education space have evinced a lot of interest. The pace at which changes take effect may not alter much with respect to the earlier years. Though if any of these are effective and achieve what they are meant to, India will arrive on the global education scene. The two instances mentioned above tackle two different segments within the education market – K-12 and Higher Education.

Continue reading ‘Indian education: Giant leap to globalization’ »

When Kapil Sibal first started to make news with efforts to bring education to the forefront, he took pretty much every one by surprise. Hardly does education grab front page headlines in the newspapers. With 44 Universities set to lose their deemed status,  it is the status of more than 1 lakh students that is at stake now. Will they manage to pressurize the government into not doing anything? National Knowledge Commission and the Prof Yashpal-led Committee to Advise on Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education have both recommended that ‘deemed to be university’ system be scrapped.

Considering that the repercussions of any university not functioning properly will be borne by the student community, its extremely important that their interests be held paramount. With universities running in 2-3 rooms, it is obvious that deemed university is a tag that many use for dubious purposes. The UGC has also added to the woes by providing the deemed university status to as many as 36 institutes in the last 5 years. Deemed is the now ‘doomed’… do you think?

Continue reading ‘'Deemed' – Not fit’ »

This is an oft repeated and clichéd way to refer appearing for and clearing the CAT exams. This time around it was more like ‘belling the ‘clawed’ CAT, where claws = online.

Assessments for admissions to some of India’s most prestigious management institutes, including the Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs) was mired in a controversy. As the exams moved online, problems hit from day one. Students complained of technical glitches that ranged from passwords not being accepted to screens going blank. Authorities were unavailable to help, and as usual, passed the buck, and as a result, many students are likely to lose out on a year.

I believe it would have been a bigger shock, had all of this passed without a hitch. This is of course not to say that these errors are acceptable. Students completely rely on this to chart the future course of their lives.

Continue reading ‘Belling the CAT-2009’ »

The failure of IGNOU’s online engineering entrance test made headlines. The reasons cited include sabotage by someone who was not given the contract (which I hope is not the case, way too easy!!), too many people logging onto the website at the designated time (shouldn’t this be anticipated), among others. Of course, we will know the truth once the Delhi Police cyber security cell completes its investigation.

For a university that has presence in over 34 countries, and caters to 1.8 million students, it is imperative to gradually adopt e-learning in a big way.  And online tests form a major part of it. Equally important is that it gets everything right, as issues like this really undermine the efforts and the people associated. Especially in developing countries which have only in the last few years considered experimenting with online learning alternatives, instances such as these serve as less than desirable examples, and might deter institutions from venturing online.

Continue reading ‘Online tests the way forward?’ »

Almost all of us remember fondly teachers who tried to make lessons interesting. Iinnovation is still the key, as it was then. Our research in the education segment, corroborates that blended education is generating interest, but is quite sporadic. Studies have indicated that e-learning is equally, if not more effective than traditional teaching methods.

The use of ICT for education is a worldwide movement, yet the effect is still limited. How many schools in SE Asia have really started including ICT as a teaching media – it is at best an elitist phenomenon. While education has become a booming business, we are still struggling with the quality of instruction. The corporate world is adopting training at a pace like never before, going all out to include training in all strategic decisions. How often do teachers undergo training? How equipped is an English teacher today to make Shakespeare come alive on the screen? Will a geography teacher for standard V use ICT to explain earthquakes? Will the management of a school equip all teachers to care and handle successfully a dyslexic child?

Continue reading ‘Fast forwarding 'E' into learning for K-12’ »

With 100% literacy rate, we thought there was nothing better that Kerala could do… but think again, they went one up on that. Kerala, a state in Southern India, is set to declare 100% e-literacy in November 2009.

Kerala, a tourist hub, has always maintained  a giant headway over other states, and has continued to beat national averages. The initiative, called Akshaya Scheme, spearheaded by the government has found acceptance at the grass-root level of Panchayats (rural governing bodies) and citizens alike. So what did they do right? This definitely was not an achievement that came about overnight and there is really no  shortcut to this feat. This is a result of sustained efforts over the last six years, with an actionable plan, in conjugation with funds, building up on past achievements, partnerships (BSNL, Tulip, others, in this case), and a set time line that was adhered to. This is just another example of ambitious projects being completed with a good mix of PPP. Quite a phillip to the e-learning industry.

Any lessons that states like Rajasthan, Bihar, UP, can learn from this bit of news?