Outsourcing progresses fast. This year The International Association of Outsourcing Professionals has announced a first listing of the world’s top outsourcing service providers.

As stated on the website:

The lists are essential reference guides for companies seeking new and expanded relationships with the best companies in the industry. The lists includes companies from around the world providing the full spectrum of outsourcing services – not just information technology and business process outsourcing, but areas such as facility services, real estate and capital asset management, manufacturing, and logistics. They include not only today’s Leaders, but tomorrow’s Rising Stars.

IBM:

Customer Relationship Management; Human Resource Management; Information and Communication Technology Management       

Sodexho Alliance

Real Estate and Capital Asset Management; Facility Services   

Accenture

Human Resource Management; Information and Communication Technology Management; Financial Management     

Hewlett-Packard

Information and Communication Technology Management; Financial Management; Imaging and Printing

Capgemini

Customer Relationship Management; Information and Communication Technology Management; Financial Management     

ARAMARK

Facility Services; Uniform and Career Apparel

Wipro Technologies

Customer Relationship Management; Information and Communication Technology Management; Transaction Processing

CGI Group

Human Resource Management; Information and Communication Technology Management; Transaction Processing

Unisys

Information and Communication Technology Management; Corporate Services; Transaction Processing

Cognizant Technology Solutions

Information and Communication Technology Management  

Full list of leaders plus 100 rising stars are listed here: The Global Outsourcing 100

If large scale business is in the game of outsourcing one can be sure that it is the trend that will keep developing fast. Yes, the companies operate on another level and their outsourcing greatly differs from the kind of outsourcing we talk on the website. But we have different markets and customers. We should learn from top outsourcing providers checking their websites, case studies, press releases: what areas do they operate in, what kind of services do they provide, what techniques and technologies do they apply? Probably, we can use some stuff at our level.

[tag]global outsourcing, top service providers, business, IBM, Hewlett-Packard[/tag]

I write primarily from the point of a person who is a freelancer or telecommuter. But we have two parties in the game: in case with telecommuting it is the employer. Does he get any benefits if his staff work from home? Sure. I will just number a few, but I am certain there are much more:

· Office space savings. Depends on the type of business, but he can cut rented office space to minimum or give it up completely.

· Office equipment savings – not always the case, but nowadays most families have their own PC, fax, Internet access, printer, scanner and etc.

· Employees save on commute time and costs. Possibility to work from home makes their job more valuable in their eyes – a great employer advantage.

· Taxes and insurance. It is a regular practice that employees become some sort of freelance workers and take care of their tax and insurance issues.

· Flexible schedule – no need to stay 9-5 hours in the office to instruct and control the staff. One can check the progress reports and delegate tasks at any time by e-mail or phone. The employer becomes a telecommuter himself.

No doubt, the employer loses a certain degree of control, he can’t keep the track of the working process, but he needs to focus on the results. He should require regular reports to be submitted via e-mail or online to see the progress. The employer should be confident of his workers, trust them. He should test new employees properly before switching to telecommuting.

Telecommuting gains popularity – thanks to the fast development of telecommunications. Probably, it will become a standard for many businesses in the near future. The earlier you introduce the switch, the faster new business model will be adopted, the more advantages will you get over your competitors.
[tag]telecommuting, employment, employer, work from home, home based jobs[/tag]

Web 2.0 is the buzz word of the last 6-9 months. The trend supporters state that the Web enters a new stage in its development, the opposition says there is nothing new, it all was invented back in the 90’s.

Just to give our readers more information on Web 2.0 I will turn to the list of its significant features. It is up to every person to make his decision to accept or not this Web 2.0 trend (I guess for most Internet users it does not matter – all we want is to see Web more useful and convenient. And free).

What Web 2.0 website features make it different from a traditional one?

o Services, not packaged software, with cost-effective scalability (When devices and programs are connected to the internet, applications are no longer software artifacts, they are ongoing services. Therefore: Don’t package up new features into monolithic releases, but instead add them on a regular basis as part of the normal user experience. Engage your users as real-time testers, and instrument the service so that you know how people use the new features.)

o Control over unique, hard-to-recreate data sources that get richer as more people use them (Applications are increasingly data-driven. Therefore: For competitive advantage, seek to own a unique, hard-to-recreate source of data.)

o Trusting users as co-developers (The key to competitive advantage in internet applications is the extent to which users add their own data to that which you provide. Therefore: Don’t restrict your “architecture of participation” to software development. Involve your users both implicitly and explicitly in adding value to your application.)

o Harnessing collective intelligence (Intellectual property protection limits re-use and prevents experimentation. Therefore: When benefits come from collective adoption, not private restriction, make sure that barriers to adoption are low. Follow existing standards, and use licenses with as few restrictions as possible. Design for “hackability” and “remixability.”)

o Leveraging the long tail through customer self-service (Small sites make up the bulk of the internet’s content; narrow niches make up the bulk of internet’s possible applications. Therefore: Leverage customer-self service and algorithmic data management to reach out to the entire web, to the edges and not just the center, to the long tail and not just the head.)

o Software above the level of a single device (The PC is no longer the only access device for internet applications, and applications that are limited to a single device are less valuable than those that are connected. Therefore: Design your application from the get-go to integrate services across handheld devices, PCs, and internet servers.)

o Lightweight user interfaces, development models, AND business models (Web 2.0 applications are built of a network of cooperating data services. Therefore: Offer web services interfaces and content syndication, and re-use the data services of others. Support lightweight programming models that allow for loosely-coupled systems.)

Job sites also follow the Internet trends and there are a few out there that fit Web 2.0 guidelines. For instance, Jobazaar.com

How do they differ from hundreds of competitors?

• Lightweight, yet powerful
You don’t need people sending you resumes and CVs, you just need someone mowing your lawn? That’s what we made Jobazaar for.
• It’s free and you’re not going to take any risks
With Jobazaar you can easily offer jobs and manage job postings. Why should you pay for looking for someone?
• Modern and fast interface
Don’t waste time waiting for pages loading or filling out unnecessary form fields. We know you don’t like that.
• Optional features
You decide if you want to enable applications directly via Jobazaar or if users can ask questions to your jobs.

A few more Web 2.0 features of the website include: tagging (tags are keywords that you can add to a job to make it easier to find), RSS feeds, applicant ratings forums. There are three versions of the website: US, UK, German. Obviously, the company targets the global job market.

Summary
Freelance jobs are scarce with Jobazaar.com at this moment, the forums do not enjoy much activity, but the service progresses fast, it gains popularity on the Net and it is worth keeping an eye on. I guess its success or failure depends to a certain degree on the destiny of Web 2.0 trend. If it is widely accepted then Jobazaar.com will make it. And we will get another good source of freelance jobs.

[tag]freelance, telecommute, job sites, outsourcing, web 2.0, work from home, home based job, contractor, career, employment[/tag]