6th Sense Analytics Sponsors First Annual Duke Study on Global Service Providers
Report Looks at Trends in Offshoring and Outsourcing and their Impact on Business and Society
October 23, 9:00 am ET -- MORRISVILLE, N.C. -- Duke University's first annual survey of global service providers will be co-sponsored by 6th Sense Analytics, Inc., a pioneer in automating software development metrics. Duke's Offshoring Research Network (ORN) has been conducting an annual survey on offshoring and outsourcing for several years, but this will be the first survey to examine the specific activities of the service providers themselves. 6th Sense Analytics has joined as a lead corporate sponsor for the new annual service provider survey. Other lead corporate sponsors include Archstone Consulting, Booz Allen Hamilton, Genpact, Quickstart Global, and Sonnenschein.
"We're very pleased that 6th Sense Analytics is participating as a sponsor of our new research on service provider outsourcing," said Dr. Arie Y. Lewin, professor at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, director of the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) and lead investigator of the ORN survey. "6th Sense Analytics brings an interesting perspective to the offshoring conversation as an innovator in the types of solutions organizations will need to make next-generation offshoring initiatives successful."
CIBER and Booz Allen Hamilton are conducting joint-research on the subject of offshore Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) as part of the ORN program at Duke's Fuqua School of Business, one of the leading business schools in the world. The goal of the research is to objectively benchmark key performance metrics and the current perceptions of financial, operational and political risk associated with the leading offshore operational models.
Last year, the Duke/Booz Allen 2006 ORN survey revealed some key findings about the state of offshoring. For example:
- Organizations are no longer targeting only low-end business functions for outsourcing; core processes such as product design and R&D are where much of the growth is occurring.
- While cost continues as a significant driver, organizations are increasingly sending work offshore to take advantage of new sources of talent and highly valued technical skills.
- The key challenges of offshoring have shifted from cultural resistance and political backlash to the more routine challenges of maintaining managerial control and operational efficiency.
Results from this survey are published in leading business and academic publications, and as part of detailed case studies and professional workshops at Duke. The full report and selected excerpts are available for purchase or download at: https://offshoring.fuqua.duke.edu/report.jsp.
This survey will focus on the other party in these offshore relationships: the service providers themselves. These service providers are described as organizations providing offshore services such as engineering, research and development, and other complex, high-end functions.
"We're enthusiastic supporters of the research Dr. Lewin and his team are conducting," said Greg Burnell, chairman and CEO for 6th Sense Analytics. "We believe that the profile and challenges of outsourcing have changed dramatically and organizations need to send key business processes offshore with eyes wide open. We think this report will provide the context organizations need to make key decisions about offshoring initiatives."
The Duke Offshoring Research Network (ORN) begins to survey companies for the 4th annual customer-side research survey on October 11, 2007. It is the only international academic-based yearly panel study tracking the strategies and experiences of corporations (US and EU) offshoring BPO, ITO, Back Office, Engineering and R&D, and other functions, combining academic rigor with managerial orientation. To become involved in the research, please contact Jeff Russell at offshoring@fuqua.duke.edu.
The 6th Sense Analytics Solution
6th Sense Analytics is a powerful and unique software-as-a-service solution for achieving accurate and consistent visibility across distributed software development projects. 6th Sense automatically and unobtrusively collects activity-based data from developer tools and delivers on-demand analytics to individuals and teams. This delivers insight into the time spent on specific activities, and provides a basis for understanding team effort, productivity and overall project velocity�ensuring software development projects are on time, on budget and on target with business goals. All of this allows software development teams to improve their ability to deliver successful project outcomes, critical to the overall success of a globally distributed software development effort.
About 6th Sense Analytics, Inc.
6th Sense Analytics, Inc., a pioneer in automating software development metrics, gives developers and managers deep insight into their software development process by delivering accurate metrics without interrupting the software development lifecycle or changing the tools used. A 2007 winner of the coveted Jolt Productivity Award, 6th Sense Analytics uses an open and independent architecture that provides visibility into the status of distributed software projects. Founded in 2004 by a team of experienced software development executives, 6th Sense Analytics is a privately held company based near Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.
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