Kevin S. Parikh

Released 10 April, 2018, Digital Singularity: A Case for Humanity shares Kevin S. Parikh’s unique application of insights to the emerging technologies that are creating new business and social imperatives for those operating in our increasingly global economy. He explores the requirements needed in our new digital ecosystem, and the future of successful businesses within it, to help companies and executives adapt, thrive, and target the right audiences moving forward.

Through the lens of… Show more

Released 10 April, 2018, Digital Singularity: A Case for Humanity shares Kevin S. Parikh’s unique application of insights to the emerging technologies that are creating new business and social imperatives for those operating in our increasingly global economy. He explores the requirements needed in our new digital ecosystem, and the future of successful businesses within it, to help companies and executives adapt, thrive, and target the right audiences moving forward.

Through the lens of Kevin Parikh, we’ll see that when all individuals have the same access, boundaryless communities supporting them, and a powerful virtual bullhorn giving them an equal voice to interact directly with the president and compete for work with corporate entities of any size, we’ll experience a new way of working, communicating, and living, together. Show less

The digital revolution has changed the paradigms of global connectivity and customer empowerment. Enterprises are undertaking significant transformational exercises to become digitally relevant and create competitive differentiation. Operating business models and customer value propositions are being innovated to create digital enterprises. These ensure customer and community engagement, omnichannel integration, digitally driven supply chain, connected workforce, and analytics-driven business… Show more

The digital revolution has changed the paradigms of global connectivity and customer empowerment. Enterprises are undertaking significant transformational exercises to become digitally relevant and create competitive differentiation. Operating business models and customer value propositions are being innovated to create digital enterprises. These ensure customer and community engagement, omnichannel integration, digitally driven supply chain, connected workforce, and analytics-driven business insights. The digital enterprise of tomorrow will create an exceptional digital experience through integration of multiple technologies and capabilities like social, mobile, cloud, analytics, rich media content, e-commerce, and integrated market management. The transition of current day organisations to digital enterprises is the biggest transformational wave to have hit the industry yet and is all set to change the ways in which businesses operate. Show less

Innovation is the most sought after and at the same time the most underachieved outcome of many modern outsourcing relationships. The primary issue is that the driver for these engagements is cost reduction versus service enhancements. In the digital era we are presented with an interesting opportunity: can outsourcing deals driven by social media, mobile, cloud, analytics & big data (SMAC) technologies bring innovation back into outsourcing? While the meaning of innovation varies by… Show more

Innovation is the most sought after and at the same time the most underachieved outcome of many modern outsourcing relationships. The primary issue is that the driver for these engagements is cost reduction versus service enhancements. In the digital era we are presented with an interesting opportunity: can outsourcing deals driven by social media, mobile, cloud, analytics & big data (SMAC) technologies bring innovation back into outsourcing? While the meaning of innovation varies by organisation, there is uniformly a strong desire to translate sourcing dollars and service providers’ world-class capabilities into improvements in service delivery and demonstrable impacts to business. The Outsourcing Draft International Standard (ISO/DIS 37500) defines innovation as: “implementation of a new or significantly improved product (goods or service), or process, new marketing method, or new organisational method in business practices, workplace organisation or external relations.” Show less

A new and innovative technology platform or stack comprising of Mobility, Analytics, Cloud Computing and Social Networking (popularly referred as SMAC) is creating the foundation for new and innovative business models that is transforming customer experience. In this article, we look at each of these technology innovations and discuss their impact on future business models.

Winning is a big deal. New-age winning enterprises differentiate themselves by introducing interventionist methods that drive new business paradigms. Social, mobility, analytics, and cloud (SMAC) are convergent forces that create a level field to entice and engage customers.

The terrain of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is rapidly changing with the emergence of new service delivery locations in different geographical corners of the world. Countries in Africa, Latin America & Caribbean (LAC) have been very active in taking advantage of the opportunity provided by BPO and are poised to corner a significant part of the growing opportunity. BPO has transformed economic landscape of many countries by creating large number of jobs for its populace, and providing… Show more

The terrain of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is rapidly changing with the emergence of new service delivery locations in different geographical corners of the world. Countries in Africa, Latin America & Caribbean (LAC) have been very active in taking advantage of the opportunity provided by BPO and are poised to corner a significant part of the growing opportunity. BPO has transformed economic landscape of many countries by creating large number of jobs for its populace, and providing alternate means to improve their livelihood. A new initiative called “Impact Sourcing” is being piloted in various countries in Africa and Asia to create jobs in the BPO sector in those countries, for economically disadvantaged sections of the society. India, Philippines, and a host of other developing nations have benefited significantly from the BPO initiatives, which is also known as IT Enabled Services (ITES) industry. Many countries in Africa, Latin America & Caribbean have analyzed the success of countries like India and Philippines in the BPO sector and are in the process of building their own capabilities to provide ITES services. New Horizons of Business Process Outsourcing in Africa, Latin America & Caribbean is a collection of articles and research papers on the way the BPO industry is growing and transforming in these geographical locations. Show less

Thomas Friedman, in his 2005 epic book The World is Flat, argues that convergence of the personal computer with fiber-optic micro cable, along with the rise of workflow software, will have a flattening effect on world commerce and trade. It will create a level playing field, where developing economies will be able to compete with developed economies on even terms, leveraging converged Information & Communication Technology (ICT). However some, including Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph… Show more

Thomas Friedman, in his 2005 epic book The World is Flat, argues that convergence of the personal computer with fiber-optic micro cable, along with the rise of workflow software, will have a flattening effect on world commerce and trade. It will create a level playing field, where developing economies will be able to compete with developed economies on even terms, leveraging converged Information & Communication Technology (ICT). However some, including Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, have been critical of Friedman’s book. In Making Globalization Work Stiglitz writes: “Friedman is right that there have been dramatic changes in the global economy and global landscape; in some directions, the world is much flatter than it has ever been, with those in various parts of the world being more connected than they have ever been, but the world is not flat. Not only is the world not flat: in many ways it has been getting less flat.” The reason for this is the worldwide “Digital Divide” that is being manifested by the rapid deployment of ICT. The digital divide is an inequality or gap between groups, broadly construed, in terms of access, use and knowledge of ICT. Not only is this divide widening between developed and developing economies, but is also manifest within a developed economy like the US. This divide is visible within the US population when one analyses usage of ICT against factors such as education and income levels, age, sex and race. Show less

Strategic Sourcing, largely beneficial, has always evoked cautionary reactions from the US Government and public at large. Currently US Government is caught between cutting budget spends and gaining greater efficiencies for public service. Strategic sourcing can not only help the US Government deliver better public services but also gain significant cost savings year on year. This paper attempts at breaking the taboo of outsourcing by showing that if properly managed, strategic sourcing… Show more

Strategic Sourcing, largely beneficial, has always evoked cautionary reactions from the US Government and public at large. Currently US Government is caught between cutting budget spends and gaining greater efficiencies for public service. Strategic sourcing can not only help the US Government deliver better public services but also gain significant cost savings year on year. This paper attempts at breaking the taboo of outsourcing by showing that if properly managed, strategic sourcing can result in great cost savings while increasing cost and process efficiencies. This paper also further argues that there exists significant latent cost saving potential in US Government IT spending and illuminates and debates on approaches like insourcing and cloud computing. Show less

History tells us that innovation and technological change have been important catalysts for economic growth, social transformation and improvements in standards of living. However, the benefits of this change in the current globalization era have often flown disproportionately to the wealthiest, the best skilled and those living in the most politically stable environments, while others have fallen into deeper relative poverty, exacerbating socio-economic gaps.

Avasant carried out a comprehensive study with the support of the Rockefeller Foundation with the goal of providing recommendations for governments and industry to implement and scale Impact Sourcing.

"Impact Sourcing has the effect of raising the spirits and dreams of individuals that have never had an opportunity to be part of the Global Economy. We hope that Avasant's collaboration with the Rockefeller Foundation on this project will yield poverty reduction, not just in emerging… Show more

Avasant carried out a comprehensive study with the support of the Rockefeller Foundation with the goal of providing recommendations for governments and industry to implement and scale Impact Sourcing.

"Impact Sourcing has the effect of raising the spirits and dreams of individuals that have never had an opportunity to be part of the Global Economy. We hope that Avasant's collaboration with the Rockefeller Foundation on this project will yield poverty reduction, not just in emerging countries, but also in more developed economies." Kevin S. Parikh, Sr. Partner and CEO, Avasant

"Impact Sourcing provides an enormous opportunity for governments to harness the skills and talents of often marginalized populations, and put them to work in good sustainable jobs. The Rockefeller Foundation is proud to have funded this important report from Avasant. Identifying the right policies for governments to establish a thriving impact sourcing sector is integral to its success and ultimately in creating employment options for poor and vulnerable people."
Eme Essien Lore, Interim Managing Director, The Rockefeller Foundation Africa

For more information on the study and report, please contact us at impactsourcing@avasant.com Show less

The past two decades have witnessed rapid growth in the IT/BPO sector resulting in improvements in the lives of millions of people worldwide and being a source of livelihood for many. Seizing the opportunities presented by the digital revolution and the rapid growth of the technology services industry is, therefore, one of the most pressing issues facing countries today. Building capacity to harness the benefits from the IT/BPO sector is an essential prerequisite to transform the society and… Show more

The past two decades have witnessed rapid growth in the IT/BPO sector resulting in improvements in the lives of millions of people worldwide and being a source of livelihood for many. Seizing the opportunities presented by the digital revolution and the rapid growth of the technology services industry is, therefore, one of the most pressing issues facing countries today. Building capacity to harness the benefits from the IT/BPO sector is an essential prerequisite to transform the society and economy of a country. Show less

With shrinking budgets and rising costs, today’s state and local governments are experiencing significant cost pressures. In some instances, these pressures are beginning to impact core services such as fire, police and emergency services. IT infrastructure outsourcing and offshoring present an attractive option for cash-strapped governments to reduce costs. Unfortunately, the political hurdles for obtaining these savings can be extremely difficult to overcome.

Since 2006, China’s market for the outsourcing of technology services has experienced rapid growth and has been heralded as a challenger to India’s market dominance. According to China’s Ministry of Commerce, the total contract value of executed outsourcing contracts in 2010 with Chinese-based service providers was approximately $19.8 Billion, a 43.1 per cent increase from the prior year.

Nonetheless, this rapid growth represents a mere fraction of the global IT services market and… Show more

Since 2006, China’s market for the outsourcing of technology services has experienced rapid growth and has been heralded as a challenger to India’s market dominance. According to China’s Ministry of Commerce, the total contract value of executed outsourcing contracts in 2010 with Chinese-based service providers was approximately $19.8 Billion, a 43.1 per cent increase from the prior year.

Nonetheless, this rapid growth represents a mere fraction of the global IT services market and hardly 26 per cent of India’s market volume. Show less

Impact Sourcing, a new concept in the sourcing world revolves around the premise of creating
social impact through the economic lever of Global Sourcing. The concept focuses on employment
generation within the poorer and less educated sections of the society by providing access to job
opportunities such as data management, content editing and low-end transcription. By connecting
latent demand for such tasks from large global companies to an untapped pool of labor at the… Show more

Impact Sourcing, a new concept in the sourcing world revolves around the premise of creating
social impact through the economic lever of Global Sourcing. The concept focuses on employment
generation within the poorer and less educated sections of the society by providing access to job
opportunities such as data management, content editing and low-end transcription. By connecting
latent demand for such tasks from large global companies to an untapped pool of labor at the
bottom of the pyramid, Impact Sourcing has the potential to change the socio-economic landscape
in underdeveloped regions of the world. Show less