Rest of IT

It is quite common for buyers to use Request for Proposal (RFP) to solicit interest in an IT project implementation. Buyer floats an RFP after collating the requirements for the project, short listing the potential vendors/suppliers, and securing a high-level agreement on priorities.

The world loves its terminologies and nomenclature. IT and CRM are no exception. Big data made its mark on the world. This was a term given to the data that was so large, complex that the traditional Analytics tools could not handle them - think social interactions, world’s population growth etc.

Vinnie Mirchandani wrote an article recently about how SAP and its vendors charge customers a bomb for product licenses and implementation. In summary: Product license structure is confusing, and customers pay for products that they have already paid for earlier Implementation specialists charge an unacceptable premium for their experience and expertise Infrastructure costs are high The world is exactly the same on the Oracle side of things.

Phil Fersht from HfS recently talked about disruptions that are likely to impact the Indian service majors. I am one of Phil’s yay sayers, and this post is no different. I agree with whatever Phil says, albeit with a few twists.

Even after being in development projects for more than a few years now, I am always not far from being awe-struck at every requirement phase we have had. The process of gathering and validating requirements, and converting everything to specs that a developer can understand, and maintaining traceability through all the rewrites and changes - are the most critical phases that always excite and worry me at the same time.