Daily Archives: November 21, 2011

Outsourcing: To make money rather than to cut costs?

The furore surrounding some unwise moves has undoubtedly caused perception issues that impinge on all significant BPO decisions, no matter how prudent or painstakingly thought through they may be.

But while cost-cutting is an important dimension to numerous outsourcing initiatives, it is not always a vital factor and sometimes does not figure in the thinking at all. For some organisations, the core question is not how BPO can be implemented to save money, but rather how it can help in making money for the business.

Where companies are pursuing a clearly defined expansion strategy, HRDs may well explore how BPO can help deliver that desired growth. This is particularly true when building a business abroad. Faced with an often daunting array of foreign legislation and regulations, employers may feel, rather than investing in the nuts and bolts of creating the necessary infrastructure in-house, money would be better spent on outsourcing, thereby giving HRDs and other directors more time to focus on the important decisions that will drive business growth.

There is a compelling argument that not only can outsource providers support clients in new markets, where they lack infrastructure, but also that they can help companies ‘up-skill’ specific segments that may drive growth, by recruiting the right new staff and developing the skills of existing personnel.

Source: http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/hro/features/1020399/outsourcing-to-money-cut-costs

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Apple’s worldwide share of PC market reaches 15-year high

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Apple’s Mac has reached 5.2 per cent of worldwide computer sales, a 15-year high for the Cupertino, California, tech giant, according to a report by Needham & Co. analyst Charlie Wolf cited on GigaOM.

Although that’s just a small slice of the overall computer space, it’s an important benchmark for Apple, which has been trying to grab market share from major computer makers including Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Acer.

Wolf said Mac shipment growth in the third quarter outpaced the total PC market for the 22nd straight quarter, 24.6 per cent to 5.3 per cent.

In the home segment, Mac’s growth was 25.6 per cent versus 4 per cent for the overall market; among businesses, Mac’s increase of 43.8 per cent far outpaced the wider market’s 4.8 per cent rise.

Wolf also said Asia Pacific represented the fastest-growing geographic region for Apple with 57.2 per cent growth for the quarter, according to AppleInsider.

"The growth of Apple’s sales in China represents a perfect storm between an iconic brand and a rapidly growing middle class that’s more brand-conscious than consumers in most other regions of the globe," Wolf said.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/computers/apples-worldwide-share-of-pc-market-reaches-15year-high-20111121-1npqf.html

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Confused by Google Android updates? Join the club

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The first smartphone sporting the new Ice Cream Sandwich software, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, hit the market today in the U.K. The hotly anticipated device will be available in other markets around the world by the end of the month.

The biggest selling point of the new smartphone is the software: Ice Cream Sandwich. This new OS not only redesigns the Android user interface and provides one release of software for both tablets and smartphones, but it also adds a slew of new cool features. These include facial recognition to unlock the phone, and Android Beam, an NFC-driven feature to exchange content like maps, contact details, and YouTube videos.

The release of the Nexus Galaxy and the new Ice Cream Sandwich software has millions of existing Android owners wondering when or if their smartphone might get the new software. Even though Google said earlier this week that it’s made the source code available to developers, it’s unclear when and on which devices manufacturers and carriers will start rolling out the software.

Even Samsung, which is the manufacturer making the Galaxy Nexus, hasn’t been clear about when other Samsung Android phones will get the update.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-57326961-266/confused-by-google-android-updates-join-the-club/

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