Knowledge Management of
Global Work
Frank Harmsen
Agenda
• Welcome to Ernst & Young! 
• IT Knowledge in a Global Context
• The ‘Distance’ notion
• Keeping the Balance - The 6P Model
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Amsterdam
Implemementation
Analysis
Design
New York
Test
Build
Hyderabad
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Amsterdam
Implemementation
Analysis
Design
New York
Test
Build
Hyderabad
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Drivers for Offshore Outsourcing
Increasing
Competitive
Pressures
Increasing globalization and evolution of disruptive technologies
is forcing companies across industries to:
 Provide superior customer service
 Reduce cost of operations across board
 Continued focus on rapid implementation of IT projects
Decreasing
Availability of
Skilled
Personnel
 Shortage of skilled IT workforce in developed nations
Emergence &
Evolution of
Outsourcing
Companies
 Increased maturity of the web & state-of-the-art infrastructure
being developed worldwide
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 Rising costs of Manpower in developed nations
 Growth of highly-skilled IT personnel in several low cost
developing countries
 Evolution of successful distributed delivery models leading to a
wide range of IT work being executed from offshore locations
Onsite: Various locations (e.g.,
Netherlands)
 Retention of regional business
knowledge
 Continuity
 Local language
 Single point of contact
Onsite
Offshore
Nearshore
Nearshore: Spain,
Canada, Mexico
 Easier Travel
 Cultural Similarities
 Time Zone
 Nearshore technical
skills to deal with
show-stoppage
situations
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Offshore: SE Asia,
China, Africa
 Lower cost
 Resources
 Quality
Transportation costs for bits are
zero
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On site
Nearshore
Offshore
Strategy and
Roadmap Definition
Client interaction,
Interviews, Reviews,
Program Leadership, &
Goal-Setting
Analysis and synthesis
Background research, thought
leadership, & information
support.
Application
Development,
Integration and
Maintenance
Architecture,
Requirements, Change
Mgmt, & Implementation
Requirements analysis,
High level Design, &
Prototype building, &
Implementation support
Detailed design,
Code Development, Testing &
Integration
Systems Integration
and Package
Implementation
Client Interaction, Process
Mapping, Solution
Definition, Architecture,
Change & Program Mgmt
Prototype Building, High
Level Design, &
Implementation Support
Custom Components,
Integration Interfaces, &
Reports Building
IT and BPO Support
First-level support,
Facilities support, &
Program Mgmt
Near-site support centers,
Service Redundancy
Large Offshore Centers, Core
Service Delivery
= Higher Ratio of Resources
= Lower Ratio of Resources
(e.g. Captive units of GECIS,
American Express, Citibank,
British Airways)
Organizations determine their desired /
optimal global locations for various activities
Source: Infosys Framework - Evolution of GDM
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Salary Cost at Infosys
General Salary Levels
USD '000 / Annum
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
India
China
Country
USA
S/W Engg.
Manager
• Overall a 25% to 35% cost advantage is expected in
offshore destinations versus costs in the US
• The primary source of benefit is salary, but infrastructure,
training and other costs are likely to be higher offshore
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Culture
Geography
Time Zones
Governance & Control
Language
Stability
Security
Legislation
Knowledge
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Distance Matters! (1)
• Collaboration over distance is hard…
particularly…
– for innovative activities
– when you need to be close to your
customer
– when requirements are not wellspecified.
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Distance Matters! (2)
Negative impacts of distance:
–
–
–
–
–
Slows work
Leads to breakdowns
Increases chance of failure
Increases risks
Requires more oversight, control,
governance, travel.
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(Fabriek, 2007)
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 Shorten the distance(s)!
 Balancing the 6 P’s:
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Paradigm
 Underpinning Way of Thinking, e.g.
 Anglo-Saxon vs Rheinländisch
 East vs West
 Structured vs Evolutionary
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People
 Culture
 Coherence
 Human, Social and Customer Capital
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Process
 Delivery models
 OneTeam
 Networked
 Front Office / Back Office
 Methods and Method
Engineering
 One way of working…
 But tailored to the situation
at hand
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Planet
 Sustainability, ecological footprint
 Corporate responsibility
 Labor environment at offshore locations
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Profit
 Benefits versus costs
 Investments in retained organization
 Intellectual capital!
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Products
 Software tools
 Wiki
 Proprietary tools, databases
 Hardware tools
 Videoconferencing
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Example of a Product: CPort
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Kennistechnologie