Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

Kevin & Jackie Freiberg - Kevin has addressed the delegates of NASSCOM (India’s National Association of Software and Service Companies), a conference where the who’s who in information technology and business process outsourcing meet to network and learn.

Forward thinking, globally sophisticated, and passionate about changing the world, business leaders from around the globe are wrestling with the following issues:

Talent Virtualisation:

Where will we go for talent? Expertise is growing around the world, Vietnam is up and coming (95% literacy rate), Israel is an R&D mecca, Brazil has become one of the new outsourcing capitals in the world.

How do we go (virtually) to where the talent is (centres of core competence around the world) and then leverage that talent through networking these centres of excellence? This means we have to get comfortable reaching across geographical boundaries and learning how to work with co-workers who come from different cultures with different perspectives. These leaders all agree that talent must be a strategic priority, it cannot be delegated to HR.

Global Citizens:

If we are moving into an era where talent is being virtualised, we must find leaders who are globally aware and equip them to be global citizens. This requires people who are comfortable with flexibility, able to manage ambiguity and who appreciate the differences in team-mates who come from other parts of the world.

Leaders will not only have to be global citizens, they will also have to lead a multi-generational workforce, Gens X and Y, Net Gen and Gen i (the interactive generation). The boomers are retiring and the composition and texture of the workforce is changing dramatically. One size doesn’t fit all. With regard to motivating this kaleidoscope of workers, leaders must be ambidextrous.

Innovation:

We must create organisations that are built for innovation, speed, and agility. Innovation is integral to the DNA of an organisation and must become a way of life versus a collateral thing. We must trade hierarchical, command and control structures for radical collaboration among specialists who are adept at building relationships quickly, people who have a holistic, big-picture view.

Radical collaboration is about taking the initiative to find out what other project teams are doing, to get in the know about who’s working on something hot and exciting. By quickly getting a picture of the strengths and capabilities of other areas within the firm, entrepreneurs can connect the dots and bring together combinations of insights and core competencies that lead to innovation.

Radical collaboration is about connecting with other thought leaders in the organisation and building relationships with these folks. This will help you feel comfortable locking arms with them as you seek to find creative, seamless, and holistic solutions for your customers.

Service Virtualisation:

Unlike producing “things,” services can be produced and consumed from anywhere in the world. This means we are and will be competing with people we never dreamed of who come from places we’ve never heard of. For the slow and arrogant this represents a major challenge. For the quick and learned it’s a huge opportunity.

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Source: www.businesswire.com

GENEVA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–HP and BT today announced that they have signed a contract with Nycomed, an international pharmaceutical company headquartered in Switzerland, to outsource its infrastructure services over the next five years.

Nycomed engaged the BT HP Alliance to support its infrastructure, which must handle the rapid exchange of critical real-time information across international networks.

Under the terms of the agreement, HP will manage Nycomed’s data centers, including more than 450 servers and 120 terabytes (TB) of storage and back-up facilities. HP will also deliver end-user workplace solutions for 10,000 workstations in more than 50 countries. Finally, HP will be responsible for a complete migration of 13,000 mailboxes to the new company standard, Microsoft® Exchange 2007.

BT will provide multi-protocol label switching – wide area network (MPLS-WAN) services, Internet bandwidth for Nycomed’s EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), Asia-Pacific and Americas hubs, and remote access services for 6,500 users.

Nycomed operates throughout Europe and in fast-growing markets such as Latin America, Russia, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Asia-Pacific region. The company has a presence in approximately 50 markets worldwide and acquired the German pharmaceutical company Altana Pharma in 2007, making Nycomed one of the world’s 25 largest pharmaceutical companies.

“Nycomed is taking advantage of the BT HP Alliance’s economies of scale, skilled staff and industrialization of operations to consolidate and rationalize our infrastructure services and technology infrastructure,” said Agnetha Mattisson, senior vice president, Corporate IS/IT, Nycomed. “Together we will establish a robust and scalable environment that will support Nycomed’s goals to grow the business.”

Francois Barrault, chief executive officer, BT Global Services, said: “We’re delighted to work with Nycomed to help them meet their international business objectives. HP and BT will deliver end-to-end networked infrastructure services.”

“We are honored to be selected by Nycomed as a trusted partner and we look forward to helping them manage and transform their infrastructure into an asset for business and competitive advantage,” said Ann Livermore, executive vice president, Technology Solutions Group, HP.