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How to Negotiate a Computer Lease for Maximum Flexibility
When it comes to leasing IT equipment, flexibility is a good thing. Business conditions fluctuate, capacity needs change, and new technologies are constantly being introduced. No company likes to be locked into a lease that does not offer the ability to terminate early—with or without an early-termination penalty. This article enumerates 14 leasing terms and conditions that lessees should clarify up front to best serve the buyer's interest and grant maximum flexibility throughout the term of the lease. (7 pp., 2 figs.).
January, 2019
COVID-19 Driving Growth of Digital Operations
The COVID-19 crisis led to severe disruptions in the global socio-economic structure and adversely impacted enterprises. Enterprises were forced to explore all possible avenues to sustain business operations. While cost optimization was one objective, the focus shifted enabling digital operations. Enterprises that had already outsourced could mitigate the COVID-19 impact better than those keeping operations in-house. BPO service providers reacted quickly, leveraged technology, and developed tailored solutions for seamless business operations. This led the enterprises follow the suite driving double-digit growth in BPO engagements in 2020. These trends are covered in Avasant’s new Business Process Transformation Horizons report.
March, 2021
Communications System Support Staffing Ratios 2021
Corporate communications systems have become more complex, although the number of IT specialists who support these systems has stabilized in the past few years. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, IT organizations can benefit from a periodic assessment of their communications system support staffing levels. This study uses three metrics to make that assessment: support staff as a percentage of the IT staff, percentage of support staff in relation to organization size, and support staff spending per user. We provide benchmarks for the composite sample, by organization size, and by sector.
January, 2021
Business Process Transformation Horizons
The report identifies key trends shaping business process management and outsourcing. It helps enterprises identify how peers are transforming their operations, how outsourcing engagements are evolving, and provides Avasant’s view. This report also highlights areas where service providers are focused on developing capabilities to meet the evolving needs of enterprises to help them be future-ready.
March, 2021
Communications Staffing Still on Mute
Corporate communications systems have become more complex, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic, as companies struggle to make it possible for large chunks of the workforce to work remotely. Nevertheless, despite the growing complexity, the number of IT specialists who support communications systems has stabilized in the past few years. This Research Byte provides a summary of our full report on communications support staffing ratios.
January, 2021
Factors Behind the Decline in Application Development Staffing
The way that enterprise applications are internally developed and maintained has changed, causing the ratio of application developers to dip again for the third straight year. App developers are some of the highest-paid IT personnel, so it is vital that IT leaders periodically assess this staffing ratio. This research byte summarizes our full report, Application Developer Staffing Ratios.
February, 2021
Long-Term Trends in IT Spending and the Impact of the Cloud
Corporate IT spending varies from year to year as the economy expands and contracts: these are the cyclical trends. But over longer periods, IT spending also changes based on shifts in technology: these are secular trends. What are the secular trends that are currently affecting IT spending, especially those brought about by greatest recent shift in technology: cloud computing? This report examines the 11-year trend in spending for application software, IT personnel, data centers, networking, and other categories, and how cloud computing is changing that mix.
March, 2018
Application Developer Staffing Ratios 2021
The way that enterprise applications are internally developed and maintained has changed. With these changes, the need for application developers is in flux, and IT organizations can benefit from a periodic assessment of their staffing levels. This report uses three metrics to make that assessment: developers as a percentage of the IT staff, users per developer, and applications per developer. We provide benchmarks for the composite sample, by organization size and by sector. We also provide a benchmark for the larger Application Group, which includes personnel engaged in web development and support, quality assurance, data management, and business systems analysis.
February, 2021
Media and Entertainment: Evolving Rationale for Trust and Safety Services – A Perspective
Digitization is changing the face of the media and entertainment (M&E) industry across the globe. We live in a networked world, where geographical boundaries are giving way to globalization. The influencer, the gamer, the streamer, and the viewer are all part of this constantly evolving ecosystem and help determine the potential growth of the industry. Safeguarding the interests of all connected customers is crucial, as the industry deals with several threats that not only weigh down revenue and reputation but also accessibility, user privacy and security, and social and communal harmony. In this paper, we talk about the business and managerial challenges of this industry, with a specific focus on trust and safety (T&S), and how enterprises and service providers are coming together to maintain the integrity of M&E.
February, 2021
Avasant Digital Forum: 2021 Outlook: Re-calibrating IT For a Volatile Economy
The Pandemic has forced companies to re-evaluate their IT strategy. While cost pressures and risk management drove the agenda in 2020, as the global economy re-emerges, 2021 is going to require a fresh outlook. Avasant’s premier 2021 Outlook Digital Forum featured research backed insights on the areas that CIOs and CFOs should focus on to re-imagine their IT while strengthening their Business.
February, 2021
Encryption Adoption and Best Practices 2021
Encryption is a best practice for protecting sensitive or confidential information, both in storage and in transit. Data encryption software and algorithms translate data into another form, or code, so that only someone with access to a secret key—a decryption key—can read it. It has a high maturity rating, but there is ample room for improvement. This report begins with a definition of encryption. We next study the adoption and practice levels and examine those by organization size and sector. We conclude with best-practice recommendations.
February, 2021
Neglect of Encryption a Prescription for Disaster
Encryption is a best practice for protecting sensitive or confidential information, and it has long since moved into the IT mainstream. Yet our research shows that there are still many companies practicing encryption informally or inconsistently, which can have serious consequences. This research byte summarizes our full report, Encryption Adoption and Best Practices.
February, 2021