Outlook journal

Big Bang Disruption: The Innovator’s Disaster

2013-05-20T05:00:00Z

As business costs are driven ever lower, some companies are creating disruptive products that are simultaneously better and cheaper than existing products, right out of the gate. The upshot? Success for those who play by the new rules of strategy and competition—and disaster for incumbents who can’t adapt fast enough.

Meet the New Chinese Consumer

2013-05-13T05:00:00Z

Successful consumer marketing in China is, in many ways, as much art as science. It combines a sophisticated understanding of local perceptions and preferences with a willingness to embrace unconventional strategies and the best new technology.

When Product Complexity Hurts True Profitability

2013-05-06T05:00:00Z

To meet the challenges inherent in today’s volatile global marketplace, companies need the right analytical lens to clarify the incremental profit generated by offering more innovative and differentiated products.

Portugal Telecom: IT Solution Drives Growth in New Markets

2013-04-30T05:00:00Z

“Instant Telco,” a standardized IT solution suite developed with Accenture, has helped Portugal Telecom reduce development time and drive profitable growth in new and important emerging markets.

Inclusive Business Initiatives: Scaling Innovation for an Emerging Middle Class

2013-04-22T05:00:00Z

Efforts to create innovations that can meet both social and business goals in low-income markets are fraught with unanticipated dangers. A study of 18 initiatives from around the world reveals how ventures can succeed where others have failed.

Creating an Internal Change Capability: What’s the Right Organizational Model?

2013-04-15T05:00:00Z

To effectively manage ongoing, complex programs of change, more companies are creating an internal change management capability. But choosing the organizational model that makes it all work is essential.

How Telcos Can Seize the IT Consumerization Opportunity

2013-04-05T05:00:00Z

The increased use of consumer IT devices in the workplace is redefining industry business models, and telecommunications companies have advantages they can exploit in this new digital services ecosystem.

Masters of the Mix - Outsourcing and Change Management

2013-04-01T05:00:00Z

The benefits of effective change management in BPO are measured at both an individual and organizational level. Companies that are attentive to transition issues and to supporting the retained workforce can drive topline benefits from a more effective functional organization.

Interview: Felipe Calderón, former president, Mexico | Green Growth: How to manage a false dilemma

2013-03-27T05:00:00Z

Economic growth and protecting the environment are not incompatible, insists this statesman. But the need to act is urgent and will require a concerted global effort if the world's economy is to adapt successfully to future climate change.

China National Petroleum Corporation: Meeting the Challenges of Complexity and Volatility

2013-03-25T05:00:00Z

This interview with Wang Guoliang, chief financial officer of China National Petroleum Corporation, explores the role of chief financial officers in improving overall business performance.

Coup d’état: Radically Rethinking Public Services

2013-03-18T05:00:00Z

As they attempt to square public service demand against supply, governments worldwide must do more, better, with less. To be successful, they need to overthrow old ideas and embrace the next generation of tools and ways of working.

Sustainable Organizations? Start with Sustainable Procurement

2013-03-10T06:00:00Z

Sustainable procurement is a top priority for increasing numbers of companies. This trend places new demands on chief procurement officers and requires more effective cross-company collaboration.

Cross-industry Ecosystems: Growth Outside the Box

2013-03-04T06:00:00Z

To reap future growth benefits, companies must smash through the traditional confines of industry walls to seek collaborative opportunities that stretch across multiple business sectors.

The Eyes Have It: Guess Who Controls the Future of TV

2013-02-25T06:00:00Z

Television is about to undergo the same kind of disruption that occurred with the introduction of the smartphone. What will change when the largest screen in the home has a big say in how we consume content, information and services over the Internet?

Freight Forwarding and Logistics: What the High Performers Know

2013-02-18T06:00:00Z

Accenture research explores the common traits of high-performance businesses in the freight and logistics industry. Attention to emerging markets, profitable trade lanes and new business models are especially critical.

IT Governance: Spinning into Control

2013-02-11T06:00:00Z

For today’s IT executive, the job has never been more difficult. The solution? Mastering a new set of capabilities focused on areas that are generally not part of traditional IT governance.

(Smart) Power to the People!

2013-02-04T06:00:00Z

A new breed of energy consumers and innovative next-generation technologies have combined to create fresh opportunities for all the players competing to capture value in the evolving energy marketplace.

Bold Ideas for a Digital Economy

2013-02-01T06:00:00Z

One of the biggest challenges facing business may be coming up with bold, new, often disruptive approaches and models to achieve high performance in a digital economy.

Why Gamification is Serious Business

2013-01-28T06:00:00Z

By using the mechanics of digital gaming (gamification), companies in a range of industries are boosting innovation, building effective marketing campaigns and driving value.

Holistic, Inclusive, Robust: How End-to-End Sustainable Systems Drive Business Value

2013-01-21T06:00:00Z

Plenty of companies have taken significant steps toward becoming more sustainable, but none has turned incremental progress into truly transformational change.

Four Strategies for Reaching China’s Emerging Consumers

2013-01-17T06:00:00Z

Who has the keys to profiting in China’s vast markets? The answer might surprise you. Here are four paths to successfully tapping opportunities among China’s rapidly growing number of middle-class consumers.

The Economics of Innovation: From Profligate to Frugal?

2013-01-14T06:00:00Z

It’s time to rethink innovation—no “breakthroughs” or “game changing” required.

A Catalyst for Innovation - Outsourcing

2013-01-07T06:00:00Z

These days, a new generation of business process outsourcing is focused on creating value beyond cost savings. And as expectations have risen, more and more organizations are looking to their providers for innovation.

A Winning Emerging-Markets Strategy in the Life Sciences Industry

2013-01-02T06:00:00Z

Life sciences companies are basing their growth strategies in large measure on expansion into emerging markets. Here are four keys to success.

How Chief Strategy Officers Can Advance Business Value through Sustainability

2012-12-27T06:00:00Z

To be successful, sustainability planning must be integrated with overall business strategy. That raises important considerations for all senior leaders responsible for setting strategic goals.

Corporate Agility | Finance: “Annual budgets are dead”

2012-12-13T06:00:00Z

One way Chief Financial Officers are coping with economic uncertainty is solid balance sheets. However, available cash is just one of four financial agility levers.

Corporate Agility | Operations: Why “dynamic” is as crucial as “efficient”

2012-12-10T06:00:00Z

Global operations are well and good in stable times, when just-in-time makes all the sense in the world. But unexpected changes can highlight hidden constraints and vulnerabilities.

Corporate Agility | Marketing: Extraordinary relevance

2012-12-06T06:00:00Z

In the new world of consumer decision making, the customer calls far more of the shots, often with a simple click of a mouse or tap on a touchscreen.

Corporate Agility | Strategy: Anticipate, Plan, Execute

2012-11-26T06:00:00Z

Strategic agility is at its most effective when an organization turns strategic insight into opportunities with clear decision-making guidelines and the willingness to allocate resources that constantly drive premium results.

Corporate Agility: Six Ways to Make Volatility Your Friend

2012-11-19T06:00:00Z

In today’s chronically uncertain markets, agility is an exceptionally powerful competitive weapon—and it can be wielded with considerable effect by enterprises of all types and sizes.

Better, Faster, Cheaper: Tapping External Providers to Manage Your Network

2012-11-12T06:00:00Z

Organizations spend millions of dollars each year to manage and upgrade their own networks. But is that the best approach? Here are three sound options for external sourcing of network management.

Fixing the Network Traffic Jam: Four Imperatives for Network Operators

2012-10-31T05:00:00Z

For operators around the world, coping with the explosion in network traffic is essential. Here are four critical actions that can help optimize network performance, reduce costs and drive business growth.

The Last 10 Miles: China and Global Competition

2012-10-29T05:00:00Z

To rectify the imbalance between growth and profitability, Chinese companies will have to focus on developing capabilities related to strategy, operations, marketing, human resources and culture.

Winning the New Battle for Consumer Influence

2012-10-22T05:00:00Z

The Internet and social networking platforms are setting up a new fight for consumer influence. Here is how to create an effective battle plan.

Where Will You Find Your Analytics Talent?

2012-10-15T05:00:00Z

As companies search for top people to staff their moves into analytics, they are encountering a critical mismatch between supply and demand. A number of practical steps can help organizations address what has become a global challenge.

How Secure Are Your Information Systems?

2012-10-08T05:00:00Z

Many companies are rethinking their IT security strategies to balance the threats and opportunities inherent in new technologies.

Shoppers Without Borders

2012-10-01T05:00:00Z

Responding to the needs of the world’s borderless shoppers can be challenging for traditional retailers. But some are starting to offer a truly seamless global shopping experience.

Are You Taking Full Advantage of the Pricing Window?

2012-09-24T05:00:00Z

Prices tend to be seen as markers for individual transactions. In fact, the total realized price for many products and services takes into account the full set of related transactions that occur before, during and after the sale. It represents a window of opportunity that opens earlier, and stays open longer, than companies often realize.

Compete or Collaborate? Meeting the Challenge of Private Label Brands

2012-09-17T05:00:00Z

Retailers’ private label brands are a growing threat to traditional consumer packaged goods companies. Should a company compete or collaborate with retailers? Here’s how to decide.

Making the Right Connection - Healthcare

2012-09-10T05:00:00Z

IT-enabled networks that capture all patient data and allow that information to be shared are the key to better, cheaper and more accessible care. But to realize their full potential, connected-health systems need the willing participation of all interested parties—policy makers, physicians and patients—in a carefully calibrated and collaborative enterprise.

Partners in High Performance - Outsourcing

2012-08-27T05:00:00Z

The key to long-term excellence in BPO? The quality of the relationship between client and provider. New research reveals eight best practices critical to creating a more strategic, balanced and thoughtful approach to establishing and managing BPO engagements.

From Analog to Digital: How to Transform the Business Model

2012-08-21T05:00:00Z

Most consumer-facing businesses are now using digital tools to get closer to customers. Far fewer are close to completing the challenging but essential journey to a holistic, integrated model, with shared assets and platforms, and an overarching digital approach.

Why Media Tablets Will Transform Education

2012-08-13T05:00:00Z

In the coming decade, the field of education is where IT will make its single biggest social and economic contribution.

Finding Growth Off the Curve

2012-08-06T05:00:00Z

With so many markets around the world simultaneously approaching critical mass, how do companies decide where and when to invest their scarce resources? Consumption curves—an old idea imbued with new power—can provide those answers and more, including how to shape markets to their advantage.

Bringing TV to Life: TV Is All Around You

2012-07-30T05:00:00Z

The “television wars” between traditional broadcasters and new, over-the-top players are heating up. Here are some ways to gain an advantage in this competitive marketplace.

Think You’ve Got China Figured Out? Think Again

2012-07-23T05:00:00Z

Very few Western companies are committing the resources required to succeed in China. Failure to focus on this complex and challenging market will mean not only passing up a significant opportunity—it could also jeopardize your future global position.

The Learning Enterprise

2012-07-16T05:00:00Z

Bringing new and relevant skills to the workforce has never been more important. To do so successfully, organizations must absorb the best practices of internal and external experts into their own knowledge base, connect people in ways that will encourage innovation and turn the entire enterprise into a learning team.

Solving Europe’s Human Capital Challenge

2012-07-09T05:00:00Z

Europe is facing an unemployment crisis unprecedented in recent times. Three human capital imperatives are especially critical to positioning Europe for future growth.

The Will to Win - Latin America's Best Companies

2012-06-25T05:00:00Z

Latin America’s best companies have a simple strategy for consistently profitable growth: a single-minded focus on what they do best and a deep-seated confidence in their own capabilities.

Is Your IT Function “Futures-Ready”?

2012-06-21T05:00:00Z

By envisioning and preparing for multiple potential futures, enterprise IT leaders can create a more agile and responsive IT function.

Making Cross-Enterprise Collaboration Work

2012-06-18T05:00:00Z

To drive a new era of growth, companies will increasingly be required to collaborate with enterprises outside their corporate boundaries. Doing so successfully requires coordinated attention to a range of human capital strategy issues covering talent, leadership, culture and organization.

Embracing the Consumer IT Revolution—at Work

2012-06-11T05:00:00Z

More and more employees are using their own devices and choosing their own software, in addition to—or instead of—their corporate-provided IT. Company executives must learn to manage this fundamental change, giving up some control in return for the benefits consumer IT brings to the workplace.

North America Flexes its Industrial Muscle

2012-06-01T05:00:00Z

After ceding much of its commodity industrial base to low-cost developing countries, North America is in the midst of a manufacturing revival. The innovative downstream producers driving this resurgence are looking beyond emerging markets to once again invest heavily in the region.

Catching the ASEAN Wave

2012-05-29T05:00:00Z

Bordered by powerhouses China and India, Southeast Asia is sometimes overlooked by multinational companies. But ignoring the transformation now under way could blind leaders to this increasingly attractive market—and to the arrival of some bold new innovators on the global stage.

Why Big Systems Are Here to Stay

2012-05-21T05:00:00Z

It’s hardly an exaggeration to say that large enterprise IT systems help run the world. But that world is changing. Here’s how a new generation of applications and platforms—combining the best of traditional solutions with cloud-based, on-demand services—is taking IT to a new level and teaching big systems how to be more agile.

Is Your Wi-Fi Strategy Enterprise-Strength?

2012-05-14T05:00:00Z

Wi-Fi networks are not just for coffee shops anymore. Companies must plan carefully to create their own Wi-Fi network in a way that is robust, scalable and secure.

IT and the Strategic Growth Agenda

2012-05-07T05:00:00Z

A small but growing group of business leaders see IT as a way to spur change that prevents a company from peaking, then fading when its revenue growth stalls. They put IT to work to support strategy—to anticipate and respond to customers’ demands, renew their management teams and strengthen the layers of talent they’ll need if they’re to weather the bad times and grow fast when business is good.

Masters of Finance

2012-04-23T05:00:00Z

Most CFOs are trying to drive value in today’s turbulent markets, but only a few are succeeding. Here are five advanced capabilities that sustain their achievement.

Upward Mobility – Mobile Commerce as a Serious Market Force

2012-04-16T05:00:00Z

Although the mobile commerce market is a reality today, its promise still eclipses its practicality. The growth of near-field communications technology is certainly one key to realizing that promise. But industry players now have to find the right ways to encourage merchants to participate.

Secrets to Effective Cloud Management

2012-04-09T05:00:00Z

New research identifies the four core capabilities that organizations need to reap greater benefits from cloud computing.

Toasters, Refrigerators and Internet of Things

2012-04-02T05:00:00Z

Devices of various sorts are already communicating and cooperating with IT systems and with one another. Here’s how to reap the benefits.

Preparing for the Unpredictable: Supply Chain Flexibility

2012-03-26T05:00:00Z

By adapting their supply chains to flex with the markets, smart organizations are learning to profit from permanent volatility—insulating themselves against downside risk, and moving with speed and agility to take advantage of the upside.

How Mobile Network Operators Can Create Competitive Differentiation

2012-03-19T05:00:00Z

Mobile network operators should focus on these key areas and trends to compete effectively in a more complex industry value chain.

How to Make Your Company Think Like a Customer

2012-03-12T05:00:00Z

Customers today expect an imaginative, high-quality experience in a multichannel environment. Regard this as an opportunity: Your company can leverage new strategies and technologies to create operations capable of making good on your customer-centric promise and growing your business.

Does Your Global Leadership Team Have What it Takes?

2012-03-05T06:00:00Z

As business becomes more global and uncertainty continues to roil markets, the tensions inherent in managing a multinational are unlikely to diminish. Having a clear sense of purpose, the right people in the room and the ability to change ahead of the curve will be the hallmarks of successful, truly global leadership teams.

Nine Keys to Using Innovative Learning and Change Programs for a Successful ERP Implementation

2012-02-28T06:00:00Z

Maximizing the return on investments in large, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems depends on distinctive programs in learning and change management.

A New Era of Collaboration

2012-02-20T06:00:00Z

For the first time, it is possible to create IT-based solutions that are flexible, timely and able to be tailored to short-term business needs. There’s a catch, however: To tap into the true power of this next generation of solutions, companies need to collaborate across a broader business and IT ecosystem.

How Analytics Is Driving a New Generation of BPO Solutions in the Health Industry

2012-02-16T06:00:00Z

A new generation of analytics-based BPO solutions is helping companies in the health industry generate higher-impact business outcomes.

Driving Successful Transformational Change through Journey Management

2012-02-13T06:00:00Z

Today’s executives must often manage a complex portfolio of change initiatives over an extended time period. Fortunately, the discipline of “journey management” can help.

Up Close and Personal

2012-02-06T06:00:00Z

With such formidable competitors as Amazon and Apple successfully invading their space, many traditional retailers will struggle to keep pace over the next decade unless they can swiftly develop a deeper, more intimate and long-term relationship with consumers.

Who Says M&A Doesn’t Create Value?

2012-01-30T06:00:00Z

The conventional wisdom that most acquisitions destroy value might be obsolete. Our latest research shows M&A success rates have climbed, and that top-quartile performers—and often even median ones—can create substantial amounts of shareholder value in any industry or region, at any point in the economic cycle.

Six Ways Social Media Technologies Can Accelerate Large-Scale Change

2012-01-23T06:00:00Z

Social media technologies are helping people communicate in new ways. Now they are also helping enterprises successfully navigate major business change programs.

Solving the Skills Crisis

2012-01-16T06:00:00Z

The broad availability of workers in the midst of the economic downturn can be misleading, and many executives are only beginning to appreciate the scope of the challenge they face when it comes to finding the right skills to compete in the years ahead. Companies must get out in front of the skills challenge, building an arsenal of altogether new solutions.

Distributed, Decoupled, Analyzed: IT’s Next Frontier

2012-01-03T06:00:00Z

While the big picture may be elusive, there are three forces or undercurrents that seem to be shaping much of IT.

The Risk Masters

2011-12-19T06:00:00Z

In the wake of a series of disasters, organizations are putting in place more comprehensive risk management programs, with the intent of moving beyond a reactive approach to risk to one that can fuel business growth in a smarter, more controlled fashion. And according to new research, an elite group of companies is also emerging to embrace even more advanced risk management capabilities.

How Big Data Can Fuel Bigger Growth

2011-12-05T06:00:00Z

In the right hands and handled strategically, the massive amounts of information companies collect today - Big Data - can become a valuable new asset. Players seeking additional organic revenue streams should consider tapping their data trove to power a new information services growth engine.

Inclusive Growth: Closing the Commitment Gap

2011-11-28T06:00:00Z

For years, companies have been exhorted to seek new customers and employees from the world’s poor, underprivileged and isolated. Progress has been slow, but some organizations are finding ways to get around the obstacles that give others pause.

Globalization: Blurring Borders

2011-11-17T06:00:00Z

Companies who segment customers across geographies by similar motives, attitudes and behaviors will strengthen their customer relationship management and enable global growth.

Managing Capital Projects as a Business

2011-11-07T06:00:00Z

Running large capital initiatives as a business, not just as projects, can reduce risk, decrease costs and improve return on investment.

Can Chinese Companies Win in the Global Big Leagues?

2011-10-31T05:00:00Z

The likes of Lenovo and Haier have shown that they can. But for other Chinese enterprises to enter the ranks of the world’s premium brands, they must establish a significant global presence in operations, sales, distribution and R&D.

Creating a High-Performance Learning Environment

2011-10-24T05:00:00Z

New research from Accenture highlights the high-performance learning traits that are distinctive to an organization's top performers.

New Paths to Growth: The Age of Aggregation

2011-10-17T05:00:00Z

Today’s expanded-scale businesses require ever more substantial sales volumes to create shareholder value. In order to grow, they must become market aggregators—masters at identifying commonalities in far-flung consumer segments—recognizing that the strongest growth will happen not within industries or markets but across and among them.

A New Era of Innovation: Cloud and the Future of Business

2011-10-03T05:00:00Z

Although many still think of cloud computing’s value primarily in terms of cost reduction, it actually can drive significant innovations in operations, processes and the design of the business itself.

Adapting to a New Model of Physician Employment

2011-09-26T05:00:00Z

Increasing numbers of physicians are seeking employment directly with hospitals rather than remaining in private practice. This trend has major implications for all players in the healthcare ecosystem.

Clear View of the Cloud: The Business Impact of Cloud Computing

2011-09-15T05:00:00Z

To effectively capitalize on cloud-based business services, providers and clients alike must understand the impact of the cloud on customer service, IT products and the entire supply industry.

At the Tipping Point: African Financial Services Come of Age

2011-09-12T05:00:00Z

New Accenture research suggests a promising future for the region’s banking sector. But to succeed, newcomers will need to do much more than replicate traditional business models from developed countries.

Driving Successful Change at Nokia Siemens Networks

2011-09-12T05:00:00Z

Following the merger that created the company, Nokia Siemens Networks overcame a series of challenges with a comprehensive, business-driven transformational change program. As a result, the company has thrived without the performance degradations typically experienced in post-merger integration.

Why Operational Excellence Matters

2011-08-30T05:00:00Z

Relatively small improvements in business processes can put companies significantly ahead of competitors. But first they need to decide which processes really matter—and develop the disciplines to manage and sustain them.

What Price Information?

2011-08-22T05:00:00Z

The unit price of information is actually increasing, not decreasing—and definitely not trending toward free.

Deeper in the Value Chain

2011-08-19T05:00:00Z

Early generations of business process outsourcing services have now matured in terms of the added value they bring to companies. Outsourcing providers are now looking to use their broad industry knowledge and analytics-based insights to help their clients tap deeper levels of innovation and value.

From Patient to Customer: Improving the Patient Experience

2011-08-15T05:00:00Z

The healthcare industry is now more competitive than ever. How to succeed? By treating your patients as customers and delivering on a great customer experience. Here’s how.

Bright Ideas

2011-08-08T05:00:00Z

Innovation drives growth in basic industries just as surely as it powers higher-profile high-tech players. However, while many energy and raw materials companies assume they already innovate effectively, only a few have fully mastered the challenge of combining invention and market success.

Strategy at the Edge

2011-08-01T05:00:00Z

When companies sense the need to find a new growth business, many turn inward, searching to extend core competencies and relying on centralized planning. High performers, on the other hand, look outward, focusing on the edge of markets and the perimeter of their company for insights and opportunities.

Leaping to a New Growth Curve in the Communications Industry

2011-07-25T05:00:00Z

In the face of fierce competition from Internet players, traditional telecom operators must become more aggressive in creating new customer propositions and business models.

Reinventing a Business at Risk

2011-07-18T05:00:00Z

Plummeting profitability, tightening regulation, increasingly informed and demanding consumers, and new and nimble competitors—a perfect storm is hammering France’s big insurers. But they’re not alone: Throughout Europe, relevance in this industry will require radical restructuring.

Rise of the Intelligent City

2011-07-11T05:00:00Z

As the world becomes more and more urbanized, the successful city of the future will need to aggressively pursue two goals: managing resources from a sustainable perspective and creating an attractive economic and social environment in which citizens, companies and governments can live, work and interact.

Network Sharing: Balancing Network Costs and Competitive Differentiation

2011-07-05T05:00:00Z

To control network costs, mobile operators are pursuing network sharing arrangements with other companies. Here are three keys to making network sharing a success.

Meeting the Challenges of Cloud Computing

2011-06-27T05:00:00Z

Although its potential upside is considerable, cloud computing is still young and suffering from growing pains. Here are four key challenges organizations must meet to realize mature value in the cloud.

Prescription for Change

2011-06-20T05:00:00Z

A new information value chain—built on evidence-based insights—is emerging that could reconcile the divergent interests within the US healthcare industry. The ultimate beneficiary: the patient.

The Allure of Pricing Predictively

2011-06-13T05:00:00Z

Pricing activities are getting fresh attention from senior executives. Realizing that analyses of past performance are no longer enough to outrun competitors, more and more business leaders are investing in sophisticated predictive analytics to drive tomorrow’s pricing models with facts rather than hunches.

Different Strokes: How to Manage a Global Workforce

2011-06-06T05:00:00Z

As companies stake their growth strategies on global expansion and the pursuit of new markets, their ability to forge a human capital strategy and HR capability that is both globally consistent and locally relevant will be critical to success.

Connecting for Competitive Advantage

2011-05-31T05:00:00Z

Working with others to secure skilled talent and innovative IT will be critical as electronics and high-tech companies emerge from the recession. That’s why smart organizations are preparing in advance.

Melding Marketing and IT: Are You Ready for the Digital Revolution?

2011-05-23T05:00:00Z

The ultimate promise of digital and interactive channels is personalization: bringing timely and relevant offerings to customers wherever they are, at that moment when opportunity and interest translate into a sale.

The Promise of Cloud Computing

2011-05-16T05:00:00Z

New research details how cloud computing can provide tangible business benefits—if it is backed by strong implementation, business sponsorship and a service ethos.

A Team You Can Count On

2011-05-09T05:00:00Z

The best companies surpass competitors in part by attracting serious talent—people at the top of their professions. And they keep them on board by ensuring they are part of an enterprise staffed with extraordinary individuals all striving toward the same ambitious goals.

Running IT Like a Business in the Healthcare Industry

2011-05-02T05:00:00Z

New research from Accenture shows how healthcare organizations can get smarter about IT cost management, shifting their spending toward applications that better support revenue growth.

What the C-suite Should Know About Analytics

2011-04-26T05:00:00Z

Analytics is a transformational phenomenon that will fundamentally change how business discourse will be conducted and decisions will be made.

Cyber Security to Improve Corporate and National Defense

2011-04-18T05:00:00Z

Cyber security is now a concern not only to enterprises but to national defense. Effective planning and response must harness advanced technologies, but also a broader approach encompassing processes, education, culture, leadership and collaboration.

The Talent to Grow

2011-04-11T05:00:00Z

New research suggests that few executives believe their recession-battered workforces are prepared to fully exploit the global recovery. To drive growth, companies need to embrace a human capital strategy that more closely links workforce planning to business objectives and looks at the broader implications for leadership and the organizational culture.

Electronic Medical Records: Meeting the Compliance Challenges

2011-04-04T05:00:00Z

New rules about “meaningful use” of electronic medical records (EMR) are challenging health care organizations. Six best practices can support compliance and more cost-effective EMR implementation.

Has the Cloud Made Outsourcing Obsolete?

2011-03-28T05:00:00Z

Many cloud enthusiasts—proponents of a simple utility model for providing business services—have written off outsourcing companies for dead. But the shakeup within the services industry has meant more complexity, not less, resulting in a critical new role for value-added outsourcing.

Joining Forces

2011-03-21T05:00:00Z

Collaboration is the key to effective government in an era of fiscal austerity—and not just because it cuts costs. By reaching out across jurisdictions and involving all stakeholders, leading state, regional and local authorities are actually improving the way they deliver services.

Why the West Needs to Learn about Workaround Innovation

2011-03-07T06:00:00Z

A different approach to innovation pervades new economies, born of scarcity and expressed in levels of ingenuity, resourcefulness and drive.

Solving the Skills Crisis in the Automotive Industry

2011-02-28T06:00:00Z

Following a period of severe cutbacks, one might think automakers have a supply of talent ready and waiting. It’s not that simple. New and more complex skill sets are essential.

Jumping the S-Curve: How to Sustain Long-Term Performance

2011-02-28T06:00:00Z

Successful companies often manage revenue growth to the curve of their financial performance, sustaining long-term performance.

Harnessing the Power of Social Media

2011-02-15T06:00:00Z

The impact of social media is embryonic today but could ultimately surpass the predictions of the industry’s most daring visionaries. Companies that actively experiment with embedding a social media mindset and capabilities in their business processes will transform their relationships with customers and create value in unforeseen ways.

State of Panic

2010-11-21T06:00:00Z

Demand for public services is growing as the same recession-battered state and local governments struggle with fiscal crisis. To survive intact, agencies need to adopt private-sector tactics that can cut costs quickly.

China's High Performers Take the Long View

2010-11-08T06:00:00Z

China’s top companies were shaken but not toppled by the global financial crisis. Their success can be traced to long-term strategies that stabilize them in hard times while positioning them for future growth.

Product Lifecycle Management: The Innovation Enabler Goes Mainstream

2010-11-08T06:00:00Z

Until recently, product lifecycle management (PLM) was an esoteric specialty practiced deep inside the engineering departments of manufacturing companies. But today, forward-thinking business leaders in many other industry sectors see PLM as an essential cross-functional discipline.

Will Marketing Get the Message?

2010-11-01T05:00:00Z

In a growing number of organizations, marketing is assuming a commanding new role—not only executing strategy but increasingly shaping it as well. As these leading growth companies redefine the marketing function, they are focusing on four key areas of competency.

The Change-Capable Organization

2010-10-21T05:00:00Z

Rather than reshape itself periodically with stand-alone change programs, a company and its culture must be constantly adaptable to new directions. Change management must be an internal—and eternal—capability, present within the organization at every moment.

Where Will the Jobs Come From?

2010-10-15T05:00:00Z

Contrary to more doom-laden views, there are ample opportunities for new growth and jobs in the mature economies of North America, Europe and Japan. But without significant cooperation between policy makers and business, a decade of stagnation could ensue instead.

Can Business Do Well by Doing Good?

2010-10-07T05:00:00Z

Yes, but not until basic sustainability practices are fully integrated into the way business is done, both strategically and operationally. For that to happen, five major obstacles must be overcome.

Use Analytics Data to Fuel New Product Development and Service Innovations

2010-10-01T05:00:00Z

BPO Analytics builds on the extensive and high-quality data generated as part of a BPO relationship, enabling companies to achieve higher levels of analytical sophistication.

Cloud Computing: Where is the Rain?

2010-10-01T05:00:00Z

Cloud computing makes traditional IT faster, better and cheaper—and it has the potential to change both the business and IT landscapes in fundamental ways.

Game Over?

2010-07-08T05:00:00Z

Far from it. But fundamental free-market factors are changing the rules about how and to what extent emerging markets will grow in the next 10 years. Companies considering major investments in these economies should consider four possible scenarios for the coming decade.

Mastering the Move from COO to CEO

2010-07-01T05:00:00Z

In the United States, the chief operating officer is often considered to be the CEO-in-training. Here’s what it takes to groom the COO for the top job.

Vive la Différence!

2010-06-29T05:00:00Z

Successful management is a team effort. And new research in Europe shows that the more diverse a company’s senior management—in terms of gender, nationality and other characteristics—the better the company is likely to perform.

Agile IT: Reinventing the Enterprise

2010-06-15T05:00:00Z

An open technology and business environment, enabled by cloud computing and new outsourcing models, is creating a radically new approach to the delivery of business services and processes—and with it, a new, more flexible operating platform.

How to Turn Data into a Strategic Asset

2010-06-08T05:00:00Z

Companies across a wide range of industries are learning that the sophisticated use of information found within their own organizations is critical to achieving high performance. Here’s a five-step model for putting analytics at the center of your decision making.

Exploring 12 Disruptive New Transport Fuels

2010-06-01T05:00:00Z

Driven by concerns about energy security, CO2 abatement and the desire to create green jobs, low-carbon energy solutions are on the cusp of commercialization. Tomorrow’s transport fuels could be harvested, fermented and generated—not pumped out of the ground.