Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer!

Brand Killer Robots reveal::

One of our friends in the other intelligence community explained an idea he had sometime ago that could help to reduce the risk of selecting the wrong IT supplier. He suggested that a further stage needed to be added to the due-diligence process that involved conducting surveys with the suppliers ex-staff.

He suggested that it was feasible to identify say 20 ex employees at different levels and then using a series of questions, develop a body of knowledge on the supplier, from which specific questions could be developed for the due-dilgence process itself.

So we conducted our own survey contacting ex staff of one of the biggest IT suppliers in the UK.

None of this information was ever drawn up such that it was linked to the ex-employees, we were simply interested in ensuring that we developed a series of appropriate questions for the supplier.

Instead of approaching this particular supplier with the set of questions, we decided to use the data to draw a number of conclusions about the company and then sit back and see if any associated evidence transpired. We had no insider information so we had to rely on what we told by ex employees, company reports and what was ultimately reported through the press.

Low and behold, four months after we had concluded our report, a series of incidents were reported through the press that completely confirmed our findings. This particular problem was consistent with what we were told by over 90% of those surveyed.

It is a good example of the old saying, "keep your friends close and your enemies even closer".

You can also learn a lot from the enemies of your enemies!

Project Managers:: Are they playing games with public money?

Brand Killer Robots reveals:

Did you know that the majority of software projects today actually result in significant delays, with costs spiralling out of control? Did you know that many suppliers make this happen by approaching the project in a seemingly dilgent way at the beginning with a view to loosening the reins of responsibility and commitment as the project unfolds. Thus as the project unfolds, this weakening resolve results in delays and additional cost. Of course, these delays will always look like you the client were at fault. It's all part of the game.

Did you know that their real motive isn't to build you a great product, but to screw you out of as much money as they can - whilst building you a great product?

We know of one particular software company that wins government contracts and who never ever delivers on time and to budget. Apparently they have so much confidence in their freedom to do whatever they like, that they deliberately mismanage projects, so that the client (who often turns out to be them anyway - operating on behalf of the government) awards the contract to another software company within the same group. So the money never ever goes outside, it remains in the group and swells as the deceitful process unfolds.

It is no surprise that this company actually has a name for internal meetings that involve inter-business-unit transactions. They call them "Black Hat" meetings.

Outsourcing Projects::Get ready to hold on tight!

Brand Killer Robots reveal::

You may have spent many years and many millions of dollars on projects developing and integrating your staff. You may have reached a point of some stability and are now considering introducing new IT systems to underpin future business expansion. You determine that you don't have the internal resources & expertise to deliver against expectations on new projects. Your choice is to invest in new staff or to outsource development to an external company. You opt to go with an external supplier.
Get ready for the biggest roller coaster ride of your life. Get ready to start giving your independence away. Begin worrying about breaches in confidentiality and having to pay over the odds for maintenance. Get ready to spend the next 3 years in tow with an organisation which really only ever had its own self interests at heart and has a mission to increase your dependence on it - for ever more.
Well, its not always as bad as that, but it can be. Effective outsourcing relationships take time and careful planning to come to fruition. Selecting an outsourcing partner to help with your IT projects is not something you should do without a formal due-diligence process. Suppliers should be vetted for their technical competence, ability to bridge the techno-business managerial gap, possess business integration skills, as well be accessible and sympathetic to your needs. Whatever the size of your investment, you don't want to introduce negative influences into your organisation. You don't want to weaken the foundations of a company you have fought so hard to build. If you are already in trouble with an outsourcing project, get tough or get out!!!!