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Archive for the ‘Other’ Category.
A few days ago, Seth Godin, marketing guru and best selling author, decided to part ways with his publisher, Portfolio, to self-publish. So, why did Seth decide to self-publish? And more importantly, how much money does he stand to make?
So, why did Seth decide to self-publish?
Continue reading ‘How much will Seth Godin earn by self-publishing?’ »
Google has the answer to a lot of questions we ask. And looks like it has the answer to this one too.
The company has been trying to digitize books through its Google Books initiative for a few years now, so it is surprising that they didn’t answer this question at the outset.
How did they do it?
Continue reading ‘Google this: Number of books in the world’ »
Dear reader,
Firstly, thank you for visiting the ValueNotes Sourcing Practice blog. It’s your contributions and vibrant discussions that keep us going, and help us understand the state of sourcing today!
If you’ve been a regular on our blogs, you would have noticed the many changes to our navigation and content. Until last week, we had separate blogs focusing on e-learning, publishing, research & analytics and legal services outsourcing. As time moved on (it’s been a year now!), we realized the value in cross-linkages, and in communicating with our audiences together.
So while once we were four, we are now on one platform, bringing you, our peers in the outsourcing sector, a consolidated view of the many industry sub-segments. We believe this move will add more value to our discussions, and enable a dynamic cross-industry representation among our readers. To illustrate, while on one end publishers could discuss how e-books can change the market, members from the new media and e-learning segments can also add to the subject and give a more comprehensive view.
Continue reading ‘Coming together to discuss The State of Sourcing!’ »
From releasing a new Kindle application for Android devices to allowing customers to exchange textbooks for a gift card or announcing Facebook and Twitter support in Kindles – the past few days have been quite eventful for Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). While these new developments reflect the inherent dynamism in the book distribution market, the possible launch of Google Editions or DangDang.com planning an IPO are indicative of the competition that the market is witnessing.
But of all the news items, what I found most interesting has been the announcement of AmazonCrossing. AmazonCrossing will use customer feedback and data from other Amazon sites to identify non-English best sellers. Once identified, Amazon will acquire and translate the book for consumption by the global English-speaking audience. The move leverages Amazon’s existing distribution networks that contain multiple channels, formats, stores and partnerships with independent book sellers.
This week, Integreon bagged a 10-year contract worth £582 million from CMS Cameron McKenna. This is a huge gain for the LPO industry. Not only has the industry started seeing larger contracts but also longer term contracts.
Law firms and corporations have mostly restricted their outsourcing contracts to smaller and short-term contracts/assignments. However, lately the legal offshore market is witnessing a gradual change in terms of the size and tenure of contracts.
Established service providers such as Integreon, CPA Global, Pangea3, and UnitedLex have reported longer-term contracts in the last six to eight months. British Telecom shifted work from its captive legal services center (located in India) to UnitedLex. Microsoft signed a contract with Integreon for legal support services. Integreon will provide contract review and offshore document review services to the software giant from its India and Fargo centers. Integreon won a seven year contract worth £50 million from UK based law firm Osborne Clarke. Rio Tinto, a leading international mining group based in the UK awarded a contract to CPA Global.
Continue reading ‘Larger and longer term contracts for the LPO industry?’ »
The year 2006-07 saw large BPOs jumping into the LPO business. Now, its Indian law firms! There has been a visible increase in the interest level of Indian law firms in the LPO industry, over the last few years. Interestingly, over the last two years, about 15+ such LPOs joined the industry. Established players like Bodhi Global, Klexserve are some of the law firm backed service providers serving international law firms and corporations. Relatively newer companies like Lexplosion, Lexedge, Legal Circle, are attaining size and expanding their client base.
LPOs backed by law firms have the advantage of domain expertise from their parent company. These service providers are not only eyeing the international clientele (of their law firm), but also looking to leverage on the domain knowledge of their parent firm to serve the domestic (India) market.
Some recent news on the Indian publishing scene inspired me to explore how the market is emerging in the trade category, especially in the English language.
Outsourcing destination! That’s the foremost identity while referring to ‘India’ and ‘publishing’ together. India has emerged as a key destination for sourcing publishing services for US and UK based publishers for over two decades. But publishers viewing India as a potential market ? – It’s a different ballgame!
Continue reading ‘India: From a service hub to a potential market?’ »
- Osborne Clarke outsources technology, business intelligence, knowledge management, transcription, word processing and secretarial services.
- Clifford Chance outsources legal services like document review along with support services such as IT and document production.
- Pinsent Masons outsources document review services along with secretarial work.
- Law firms like Eversheds, Lovells and Linklaters that currently outsource support functions and are considering outsourcing legal services.
Interestingly, law firms are looking at offloading both legal and support services!
British Telecom (BT) recently announced its decision to shift work from its captive legal services center (located in India) to UnitedLex, a leading LPO. Another gain for the LPO industry! According to a press release issued by UnitedLex, a team of 15 professionals from UnitedLex will provide commercial contracting and antitrust regulation services to BT legal teams in UK, US, India, Singapore and Hong Kong. Founded four years ago, UnitedLex employs 550 lawyers globally, with a majority located in India and the some based out of the US and Israel.
Five years back, BT decided to withdraw their legal services work from outside counsel and start an in-house unit. Currently, they have about 500 people spread across the globe offering legal support services to the BT operations along with a 15-20 man team operating from Gurgaon, India.
Red Bridge Strategy, Inc. is organizing a Global Legal Process Management Boot Camp during the week of May 17th in Mumbai and Delhi. Attendees will broadly learn about global legal process management and specifically about Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO). Presentations, facilities tours, and personalized discussions are expected to educate and inform general counsels, law firm partners and senior attorneys seeking to understand the industry, its benefits, and its challenges.
The Boot Camp will provide attendees with firsthand exposure to the operating environment in India including local talent, business practices, culture, and infrastructure while simultaneously explaining local measures that address security, ethics, confidentiality, and other topics. Industry authorities from Integreon, Pangea3, UnitedLex, Red Bridge Strategy, Inc., ValueNotes, and others will educate attendees.
Continue reading ‘Global Legal Process Management Boot Camp’ »
