In the Nigerian Electric Power Industry, the only model of service management that is mandated and monitored by the industry regulator is complaints management in a bid to ensure optimal service quality to consumers but this model is not comprehensive enough to deliver on the requirements of this industry and so new procedures have to be found that can bring about the change required. ITIL is a public framework describing Best Practice in IT service management that delivers exceptional results for the governance of IT and focuses on the continual measurement and improvement of the quality of IT service delivered, from both a business and a customer perspective. This paper proposes a unified customer service management paradigm that attempts to deliver Service Availability and Improvement alongside ensuring Service Quality that promotes customer satisfaction through the implementation of an adaptation of portions of the IT service management framework as defined by ITIL for the Nigerian Electric Power Industry
Advanced enterprises compete differently. Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing technologies form the foundation that support and enable this differentiation. It’s more than just getting reports and analytics, it’s about scalability, security, robustness and enterprise grade information delivery that enable an insightful organization.
A well-designed IT Service Delivery Model is critical to achieving success in IT management and operations. Many IT organizations focus on optimizing their technology assets -- the infrastructure and applications. However, in our experience, business value is achieved most effectively when technology assets and the IT service delivery model are integrated and work together seamlessly.
In the Nigerian Electric Power Industry, the only model of service management that is mandated and monitored by the industry regulator is complaints management in a bid to ensure optimal service quality to consumers but this model is not comprehensive enough to deliver on the requirements of this industry and so new procedures have to be found that can bring about the change required. ITIL is a public framework describing Best Practice in IT service management that delivers exceptional results for the governance of IT and focuses on the continual measurement and improvement of the quality of IT service delivered, from both a business and a customer perspective. This paper proposes a unified customer service management paradigm that attempts to deliver Service Availability and Improvement alongside ensuring Service Quality that promotes customer satisfaction through the implementation of an adaptation of portions of the IT service management framework as defined by ITIL for the Nigerian Electric Power Industry
Advanced enterprises compete differently. Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing technologies form the foundation that support and enable this differentiation. It’s more than just getting reports and analytics, it’s about scalability, security, robustness and enterprise grade information delivery that enable an insightful organization.
A well-designed IT Service Delivery Model is critical to achieving success in IT management and operations. Many IT organizations focus on optimizing their technology assets -- the infrastructure and applications. However, in our experience, business value is achieved most effectively when technology assets and the IT service delivery model are integrated and work together seamlessly.
Maximizing your Global Delivery Strategy (ADM Outsourcing)Steven Hall
Want to really understand how to maximize performance in an outsourced ADM environment? Global Delivery is powerful, and with some straigh-forward rules, can increase productivty and improve software quality.
What It Takes to Become a World-Class Global Business Services CenterMark Peacock
Presentation at the 2016 International Asso of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) Outsourcing World Summit. Using data and trend analysis from Hackett’s GBS benchmark and annual performance studies, this session will identify practices
and strategies that separate World-Class multi-functional GBS organizations from peer GBS groups. We will highlight performance differences between World-Class and peer, how World-Class GBS groups use outsourcing to drive superior results, and discuss the next wave of GBS operating models with specific focus on hybrid captive-outsourced GBS models.
Cloud Navigator is our tried and trusted way of helping you navigate quickly and effectively through the cloud. We offer incorporated cloud computing into your strategy, assessment of cloud computing scenarios & options, security & compliance check, sourcing & transformation advice, as well as adaptation of governance & operation.
Enterprise SaaS: A Mismatch Made in HeavenStanton Jones
Enterprise demand for SaaS is surging. Providers are building, acquiring and partnering SaaS platforms at a breakneck pace. What happens when they meet?
BearingPoint's predictive maintenance approach supports clients to optimize asset availability, reduce failure rates and minimize downtimes. Clients will be able to predict breakdowns and initiate tangible actions to avoid them.
CompTIA 4th Annual Trends in Managed Services CompTIA
Understanding the mindset of the customer is a crucial ingredient in any successful managed services practice. What do they consider “managed services” and what kinds of questions to they ask when vetting providers? What do they look for in a service level agreement? Trends in Managed Services captures critical end-user information about managed services usage patterns, preferences and general attitudes towards managed services to help guide you toward maximum growth and profitability.
The study, conducted in two parts, includes quantitative findings based on an online survey of 350 executives in the end-user community, plus an in-depth set of qualitative interviews with 18 current or former users of managed services.
BearingPoint's operational excellence approach in CPG Manufacturing primarily aims to reduce costs in production and to support clients in their transformation journey. Our operational excellence approach contributes to the creation of a culture of continuous improvements in factories.
CPQ - Configure, Price and Quoting ExcellenceBearingPoint
Realizing all potentials of the CPQ Excellence will lead to
reduced process complexity with direct impact on time,
cost and risk. Main key performance indicators will be
both higher win rates of your offers, as well as lower
quotation throughput times. CPQ Excellence takes
advantage of potentials in a systematic configuration,
pricing, and quotation process in a complex
business environment.
In this case study, the WGroup team worked closely with the client’s IT department to develop and execute a sourcing strategy for SAP application maintenance. The resulting outsourcing arrangement significantly reduced the cost of managing and maintaining the client’s SAP application suite while improving service levels and flexibility.
Our Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) Solution Study covers one of the six categories presented in our Sales Enablement Best Practices Report. As the name implies, Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) solutions provide functionality to support complex sales transactions. CPQ systems enable sales teams to custom design or configure a solution for a customer from different product sets, options or piece parts; price the solution appropriately and prepare a quote for the customer in a negotiated sales situation.
We define CPQ as comprising the strategies, processes, technologies and tools that support the organization’s ability to effectively configure products/services from a set of options, price a customized solution based on relevant internal and external factors and provide a digitally generated quote for customer signature and payment.
This study covers the following sections:
- Executive Summary
- What is Configure, Price, Quote?
- Benefits of CPQ
- The CPQ Solutions Landscape
- CPQ Deployment Lifecycle
- Vendor Selection Criteria
- Action Plan
- Analyst Bottom Line
- About the Research Analysts
- Our Solution Study Methodology
- About Demand Metric
There are 8 premium tools & templates linked inside of this solution study:
- CPQ Readiness Assessment
- Sales Enablement Framework
- CPQ Strategy Scorecard
- CPQ Vendors Matrix
- CPQ System RFP Template
- CPQ Vendor Evaluation Matrix
- MarCom Plan Methodology
- CPQ Program Metrics Dashboard
To obtain this document, visit us at http://www.demandmetric.com/register
The low-interest period is forcing most insurers to control and monitor their financial investments. In contrast to a risk focused
approach seen in recent years, yield controlling and monitoring will have top priority. In order to reach this goal, many
insurers are modernizing and enhancing their data warehouses. BearingPoint is offering a predefined investment data warehouse comprising the most required KPIs, reports and the underlying data model.
This presentation is about -
Introduction to the Cloud Computing ,
Evolution of Cloud Computing,
Comparisons with other computing techniques fetchers,
Key characteristics of cloud computing,
Advantages/Disadvantages,
For more details you can visit -
http://vibranttechnologies.co.in/salesforce-classes-in-mumbai.html
BearingPoint helps clients develop a Customer Relationship Management platform to orchestrate and enhance sales, customer and activity management with the help of a comprehensive transparent and user-friendly UI design.
Maximizing your Global Delivery Strategy (ADM Outsourcing)Steven Hall
Want to really understand how to maximize performance in an outsourced ADM environment? Global Delivery is powerful, and with some straigh-forward rules, can increase productivty and improve software quality.
What It Takes to Become a World-Class Global Business Services CenterMark Peacock
Presentation at the 2016 International Asso of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) Outsourcing World Summit. Using data and trend analysis from Hackett’s GBS benchmark and annual performance studies, this session will identify practices
and strategies that separate World-Class multi-functional GBS organizations from peer GBS groups. We will highlight performance differences between World-Class and peer, how World-Class GBS groups use outsourcing to drive superior results, and discuss the next wave of GBS operating models with specific focus on hybrid captive-outsourced GBS models.
Cloud Navigator is our tried and trusted way of helping you navigate quickly and effectively through the cloud. We offer incorporated cloud computing into your strategy, assessment of cloud computing scenarios & options, security & compliance check, sourcing & transformation advice, as well as adaptation of governance & operation.
Enterprise SaaS: A Mismatch Made in HeavenStanton Jones
Enterprise demand for SaaS is surging. Providers are building, acquiring and partnering SaaS platforms at a breakneck pace. What happens when they meet?
BearingPoint's predictive maintenance approach supports clients to optimize asset availability, reduce failure rates and minimize downtimes. Clients will be able to predict breakdowns and initiate tangible actions to avoid them.
CompTIA 4th Annual Trends in Managed Services CompTIA
Understanding the mindset of the customer is a crucial ingredient in any successful managed services practice. What do they consider “managed services” and what kinds of questions to they ask when vetting providers? What do they look for in a service level agreement? Trends in Managed Services captures critical end-user information about managed services usage patterns, preferences and general attitudes towards managed services to help guide you toward maximum growth and profitability.
The study, conducted in two parts, includes quantitative findings based on an online survey of 350 executives in the end-user community, plus an in-depth set of qualitative interviews with 18 current or former users of managed services.
BearingPoint's operational excellence approach in CPG Manufacturing primarily aims to reduce costs in production and to support clients in their transformation journey. Our operational excellence approach contributes to the creation of a culture of continuous improvements in factories.
CPQ - Configure, Price and Quoting ExcellenceBearingPoint
Realizing all potentials of the CPQ Excellence will lead to
reduced process complexity with direct impact on time,
cost and risk. Main key performance indicators will be
both higher win rates of your offers, as well as lower
quotation throughput times. CPQ Excellence takes
advantage of potentials in a systematic configuration,
pricing, and quotation process in a complex
business environment.
In this case study, the WGroup team worked closely with the client’s IT department to develop and execute a sourcing strategy for SAP application maintenance. The resulting outsourcing arrangement significantly reduced the cost of managing and maintaining the client’s SAP application suite while improving service levels and flexibility.
Our Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) Solution Study covers one of the six categories presented in our Sales Enablement Best Practices Report. As the name implies, Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) solutions provide functionality to support complex sales transactions. CPQ systems enable sales teams to custom design or configure a solution for a customer from different product sets, options or piece parts; price the solution appropriately and prepare a quote for the customer in a negotiated sales situation.
We define CPQ as comprising the strategies, processes, technologies and tools that support the organization’s ability to effectively configure products/services from a set of options, price a customized solution based on relevant internal and external factors and provide a digitally generated quote for customer signature and payment.
This study covers the following sections:
- Executive Summary
- What is Configure, Price, Quote?
- Benefits of CPQ
- The CPQ Solutions Landscape
- CPQ Deployment Lifecycle
- Vendor Selection Criteria
- Action Plan
- Analyst Bottom Line
- About the Research Analysts
- Our Solution Study Methodology
- About Demand Metric
There are 8 premium tools & templates linked inside of this solution study:
- CPQ Readiness Assessment
- Sales Enablement Framework
- CPQ Strategy Scorecard
- CPQ Vendors Matrix
- CPQ System RFP Template
- CPQ Vendor Evaluation Matrix
- MarCom Plan Methodology
- CPQ Program Metrics Dashboard
To obtain this document, visit us at http://www.demandmetric.com/register
The low-interest period is forcing most insurers to control and monitor their financial investments. In contrast to a risk focused
approach seen in recent years, yield controlling and monitoring will have top priority. In order to reach this goal, many
insurers are modernizing and enhancing their data warehouses. BearingPoint is offering a predefined investment data warehouse comprising the most required KPIs, reports and the underlying data model.
This presentation is about -
Introduction to the Cloud Computing ,
Evolution of Cloud Computing,
Comparisons with other computing techniques fetchers,
Key characteristics of cloud computing,
Advantages/Disadvantages,
For more details you can visit -
http://vibranttechnologies.co.in/salesforce-classes-in-mumbai.html
BearingPoint helps clients develop a Customer Relationship Management platform to orchestrate and enhance sales, customer and activity management with the help of a comprehensive transparent and user-friendly UI design.
Why Gooses* make Flipping Useless Librarians, but Great Educators: Using edut...Gaz Johnson
This is the presentation that I used alongside my workshop looking into edutainment for academic librarians at the UCRG and CoFHE 2008 conference. Videos that accompany the workshop are located over on my YouTube account.
The Global Open Access Debate & Institutional Repositories for ResearchersGaz Johnson
Talk delivered to the Dermatology research unit at the University of Nottingham Mar 2007; focussing on open access, scholarly communication and repositories
Library Services & Finding Information for M.Sc (DL) StudentsGaz Johnson
Talk given in April 2008 to distance learning students studying postgraduate degrees in education at Leicester. Covers general library practice and basic data resources available.
The Challenge of Delivering an Effective Interlending ServiceGaz Johnson
These are the slides from the FIL/LIEM workshop for interlending library staff at the University of Leicester 3/Nov/2011.
This talk takes an overview of the challenges - both operational and strategic - that face interlending staff in the modern environment.
David Beard
CRM Evangelist - Sage CRM Solutions
"With over 10 years involvement in business analyst & project management roles for a variety of companies in the IT, telecommunications & banking sectors, David brings a wealth of experience in helping companies define what a customer means and how best to interact - across both cultural & systemic contexts"
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail: implementing ERP and CRM systemsSageukofficial
David Beard, from the business software company Sage UK, looks at market place trends driving the thoughts of software vendors. He then considers why businesses often fail to realise the measurable benefits from ERP and CRM software implementations and what they can do to widen, and thus, improve their approach.
The Fundamentals Of BPM Innovation In TelecommunicationsNathaniel Palmer
Review the fundamentals of embracing BPM in the telecommunications industry. This session will identify goals, obstacles, strategies, and the rewards of embracing BPM. Examples from KT Freetel Co. Ltd., Korea’s
second largest mobile communications company are highlighted throughout the presentation.
Forrester Wave | BPM Platforms for digital business 2015Rick VARGAS
Pegasystems Leads The Pack
Forrester’s research uncovered a market in which
Pegasystems, Appian, and IBM continue to lead
the pack. Software AG, Oracle, Newgen Software,
OpenText, Bizagi, K2, and DST Systems offer
competitive options. Red Hat and TIBCO
Software lag behind.
The BPM Platforms Market Is Growing As EA
Pros Accelerate Digital Transformation
The BPM platforms market is growing because
more EA professionals see BPM as a way to
address emerging challenges for customer
experience and digital business. This market
growth is, in large part, because EA pros
increasingly trust BPM platform providers to act
as strategic partners, helping them transform
how they use technology to win, serve, and retain
customers in the digital age.
2. Does Collaboration Provide a Competitive Advantage? A businesscollaboration strategy was once a nice-to-have. Not anymore. Even in the current economic climate, 37% of organizations surveyed in Forrester's Q4 2008 enterprise and SMB software survey consider implementing a collaboration strategy important in 2009. -“Benchmarking Your Collaboration Strategy”- Forrester November
3. Problem:Low Quality Levels Professional services organizations tend to rely more in individuals skills to overcome the shortfalls in service delivery, ratherthan building theknow-how of the organization. Processes organization Know-How People Individual Know-How Infrastructure Disjointed Technology
4. New Model People Individual Know-How Processes organization Know-How Partners Community Know-How To deliver successful professional services (Competitive Cost and Consistent high Quality levels) in the Flat World, you are required to have balance Infrastructure Integrated Technology
5. Seize the Future eTask.it: Productivity in the New Normal Road to Success
6. Cost Quality Reduced cost of quality One-off Delivery without eTask.it Factory/ Disciplined Delivery with eTask.it
7. The eTask.it proposition: Our Beliefs Resource skills Management Quality & Service Consistency Know-how in the company Global collaborationstayshere Transparency Continuous improvement ServiceAutomation
9. Path to Operational Excellence With eTask.it, Professional Services companies can not only standardize the delivery of services but also keep the knowledge generated within the organization. 1 3 4 2 2 4 3 Define Services “What” Define Method “How” Agree Contracts Deliver Service Inception Features Benefits Work Products Category Terms & Conditions Elaboration SLAs Pricing Tasks Roles Custom SLAs Construction Transition Service Components Custom Pricing Activities Operations Method Processes Measure/Benchmark Improve
10. Integrated Supply Chain The transparent integration of the processes reduce the risks and inefficiencies related to the management of different IT partners, hence improving the qualityand response times given to the end customer End Customer: Total Transparency Consistent Engagement Single Interface Other Support Companies Project Mgmt Supply Chain Integration Engine Software House B Consultants Software House A Corporate IT Dept IT Provider A Call Center Resources & Products Resources & Products Resources & Products Resources
11. New Market Opportunities Provides a virtual marketplace optimised for the e-procurement of IT professional services and products Demand of IT Products & Services Provision of IT Products & Services Payment System Different Auction models Collabor. Tools Register Buyers Customers of standard SOM platform Companies of any size or sector that require IT services ONLY Companies that are using the SOM platform can provide services Real SLAs Customers of standard SOM platform Provider Scoring Mediation Services Companies using the Operational platform
17. Service Automation Quality Improvement Programs (CMMI, SixSigma, ISO, SOX,PMI…) Development Methodologies (Iterative, RUP, MSF, Waterfall, Agile, in-house…) Conceptual Methodologies& Frameworks Real Process Automation Highly orchestrated Point Tools Requirements Design Build Test Deploy Loosely Coordinated Skills
18. eTask.it Process Lifecycle Framework (CMMI, ISO, ITIL) Methodology Internal Best Practices Process Modeling > Process Enactment > Process Monitoring Continous Improvement Lessons Learned Real-TimeMetrics
OUR BELIEFS:Global business collaboration is here to stayTransparency is the cornerstone for successful business partnershipsService Automation is required to achieve continuous improvementKnow-how must stay with the company not with the individualsConsistent quality and service delivery are a must
Integrated Supply Chain : Possibly the most innovative functionality of the platform, allows all the companies using the operational platform to seamlessly collaborate among each other without the need of expensive system integration projects. As mentioned in the operational platform slide, a user will be able to eTask.it (i.e. Outsource) tasks or whole processes (e.g. Bug Management) to other eTask.it ecosystem members. For example, during the resource allocation phase in a project, the project manager will be able to assign a specific provider or invite other providers to handle the task or sub-project through the virtual market place. By leveraging the fact that all the companies using the operational platform will be sharing the same core processes and will have standard SLAs, the process of integrating work to other parties can be achieved effortlessly.As a direct consequence of the transparent integration of processes between the different members of the eTask.itecosystem, those members will be able to react faster and more effectively to changes in the market, allowing them to attract the best resources and products to provide solutions to their end customers.
The eTask.it virtual market brings a lot of features to its users, including the following:Free Registration: The portal will offer to both buyers and provider the opportunity to register on the market place without any cost in order to incentive the creation of the market place. Buyers will be able to publish new projects/requirements on the market without any cost or purchase products. Providers in the other hand will be charged a commission for every project or product they sell through the market and will be required to use the operational platform. Auctions models: The portal will offer buyers the possibility of selecting the auction model that best matches their individual requirements. The system will offer two different models:Open Auction: the buyer is able to invite all the providers that meet his selection criteria (e.g. Quality, Location, Skills etc).Close Auction: the buyer is able to invite a select name of providers, and only these providers will be able to bid for the business. Optimised Payment System: The payment of any product or service sold in the portal is done through a virtual account, which can be funded by different methods including Credit Cards, Debit cards, Cheques or wire transfers. Each company registered in the portal will have its own eTask.it virtual account and through this account each company will be able to pay and receive monies for the services provided. The system is designed to solve the most common problems related with the commercial transaction between buyers and provider at the local and especially at the international level. Therefore the system will work as follows:Payment of services through Escrow service: Once a buyer has chosen a provider to undertake a project, the buyers is required to credit its virtual account with at least the amount of money required for the first phase. Without this confirmation, the provider does not start the project. Money is only release to the provider with the approval from the buyer, usually at the successful completion of each of the stages of a project.Surety Bonds: In order to offer buyers certain level of protection against providers, the system will offer them with the option of demanding a surety bond from the provider selected. Two main options will be offered:For small project (i.e. Up to US$50.000), the buyers will be able to request of a eTask.it bond, which requires the selected provider to deposit up to 20% of the total value of the project in the virtual account. This money subsequently frozen until the project is completed. In the event of a default from the provider, this money is transferred to the buyers virtual account.For medium to large projects (i.e More than US$50.000), the buyers will be able to request that the provider gets a commercial Surety Bond from a reputable insurance broker and provide a copy of the policy before the work can commence. Mediation Service: For all disputes in the market, eTask.it will offer a mediation service which is based on a predefined process designed to reach a deal at the end of it. This process start with a period of time that both parties are required to solve their differences. After this initial period (i.e. 2 Weeks), eTask.it personnel will organize an e-conference call with both parties in order to evaluate the issue and define a resolution plan. If after the mediation of eTask, the problem persists after 2 weeks, eTask.it will be authorized to transfer the funds involved to a charity. Product Purchase: For the purchase of products in the market, the system will allow the buyer to pay directly with a credit card or to use the available funds in the virtual account to pay for the product. Payment Schedules: Provider will be able to define the payment schedule against key deliverables in the project, so as soon as each stage is completed, the provider will be able request the necessary payments from the buyer in order to continue or complete the project. Optimised provider selection: The system will offer buyer with the most comprehensive view of the provider’s quality performance in the market today, so the buyer can make a real informed decision and therefore reduce the risks of engaging with unreliable providers. This view will be based on a set unique metrics that combined generated the eTask.it quality score. The portal therefore will provide the following information to the buyers:Portfolio of Projects and Case Studies: The providers will be able to present examples of the work/projects that they have implemented for other customers. This information will be available to the buyers during the selection process.Confirmed quality certifications: Providers are able to list the quality certification that have achieved (e.g. ISO9001, CMMI, ITIL etc). eTask.it will offer the service of checking that the certification are in fact real and current, so the buyers can have a more truthful view of the provider’s quality achievements.Technical and languages skill levels: Providers are able to list the main technical skills and levels of languages that they can offer to their customers. With simple 1-5 scales and clear definition of the meaning of each level, each provider will be able to define its technical profile and language capabilities.Customer’s feedback (Qualitative Score): At the end of each project, the buyer is required to score the provider in different areas such as: Quality of the Work, Responsiveness, Time Control etc. The weighted average of the scores given is available to the future buyers. This feedback process encourages providers to offer high quality work because otherwise negative scores will directly affect their opportunity of selling more services in the marketplace. Service Consistency (Quantitative Score): As the operational platform will be developed over a set of standard processes that are not only aligned to the best practices in the IT industry, but also controlled and measure by a BPM/Workflow technology, eTask.it will be able to measure and compare “like with like” the performance of all the companies. Through the quantitative measurement of the deviation of each KPI (Key Performance Indicator) against the target performance (i.e. Service Level Agreement) offer to each customer, eTask.it will generate a SLA adherence score unique the industry. For example, if a provider offers 4 hr response time to changes requests, and the average respond time measure by the system is 4.5 hours, the provider will have a 4.5/5.eTask.it Quality Score: Through a combination of the Service Consistency, Customer’s Feedback and Confirmed Certifications, every provider will be given a score. Collaboration System: The portal will offer a set of basic Web 2.0 collaboration tools in order to enhance the collaboration process between the buyer and the provider during the execution of the project. Among the tools available, the portal will offer Chat rooms, tools for teleconference over the Web (e.g. Skype). For the customers that decide to use the operational platform, they will have more functionality in order to achieve even higher standards of transparency between both parties. Even though these tools are not intending to replace face-to-face interaction between client and provider, they are designed to complement the traditional commercial processes. However, for small value projects, these tools are deemed enough to completing a successful project.
The eTask.it virtual market brings a lot of features to its users, including the following:Free Registration: The portal will offer to both buyers and provider the opportunity to register on the market place without any cost in order to incentive the creation of the market place. Buyers will be able to publish new projects/requirements on the market without any cost or purchase products. Providers in the other hand will be charged a commission for every project or product they sell through the market and will be required to use the operational platform. Auctions models: The portal will offer buyers the possibility of selecting the auction model that best matches their individual requirements. The system will offer two different models:Open Auction: the buyer is able to invite all the providers that meet his selection criteria (e.g. Quality, Location, Skills etc).Close Auction: the buyer is able to invite a select name of providers, and only these providers will be able to bid for the business. Optimised Payment System: The payment of any product or service sold in the portal is done through a virtual account, which can be funded by different methods including Credit Cards, Debit cards, Cheques or wire transfers. Each company registered in the portal will have its own eTask.it virtual account and through this account each company will be able to pay and receive monies for the services provided. The system is designed to solve the most common problems related with the commercial transaction between buyers and provider at the local and especially at the international level. Therefore the system will work as follows:Payment of services through Escrow service: Once a buyer has chosen a provider to undertake a project, the buyers is required to credit its virtual account with at least the amount of money required for the first phase. Without this confirmation, the provider does not start the project. Money is only release to the provider with the approval from the buyer, usually at the successful completion of each of the stages of a project.Surety Bonds: In order to offer buyers certain level of protection against providers, the system will offer them with the option of demanding a surety bond from the provider selected. Two main options will be offered:For small project (i.e. Up to US$50.000), the buyers will be able to request of a eTask.it bond, which requires the selected provider to deposit up to 20% of the total value of the project in the virtual account. This money subsequently frozen until the project is completed. In the event of a default from the provider, this money is transferred to the buyers virtual account.For medium to large projects (i.e More than US$50.000), the buyers will be able to request that the provider gets a commercial Surety Bond from a reputable insurance broker and provide a copy of the policy before the work can commence. Mediation Service: For all disputes in the market, eTask.it will offer a mediation service which is based on a predefined process designed to reach a deal at the end of it. This process start with a period of time that both parties are required to solve their differences. After this initial period (i.e. 2 Weeks), eTask.it personnel will organize an e-conference call with both parties in order to evaluate the issue and define a resolution plan. If after the mediation of eTask, the problem persists after 2 weeks, eTask.it will be authorized to transfer the funds involved to a charity. Product Purchase: For the purchase of products in the market, the system will allow the buyer to pay directly with a credit card or to use the available funds in the virtual account to pay for the product. Payment Schedules: Provider will be able to define the payment schedule against key deliverables in the project, so as soon as each stage is completed, the provider will be able request the necessary payments from the buyer in order to continue or complete the project. Optimised provider selection: The system will offer buyer with the most comprehensive view of the provider’s quality performance in the market today, so the buyer can make a real informed decision and therefore reduce the risks of engaging with unreliable providers. This view will be based on a set unique metrics that combined generated the eTask.it quality score. The portal therefore will provide the following information to the buyers:Portfolio of Projects and Case Studies: The providers will be able to present examples of the work/projects that they have implemented for other customers. This information will be available to the buyers during the selection process.Confirmed quality certifications: Providers are able to list the quality certification that have achieved (e.g. ISO9001, CMMI, ITIL etc). eTask.it will offer the service of checking that the certification are in fact real and current, so the buyers can have a more truthful view of the provider’s quality achievements.Technical and languages skill levels: Providers are able to list the main technical skills and levels of languages that they can offer to their customers. With simple 1-5 scales and clear definition of the meaning of each level, each provider will be able to define its technical profile and language capabilities.Customer’s feedback (Qualitative Score): At the end of each project, the buyer is required to score the provider in different areas such as: Quality of the Work, Responsiveness, Time Control etc. The weighted average of the scores given is available to the future buyers. This feedback process encourages providers to offer high quality work because otherwise negative scores will directly affect their opportunity of selling more services in the marketplace. Service Consistency (Quantitative Score): As the operational platform will be developed over a set of standard processes that are not only aligned to the best practices in the IT industry, but also controlled and measure by a BPM/Workflow technology, eTask.it will be able to measure and compare “like with like” the performance of all the companies. Through the quantitative measurement of the deviation of each KPI (Key Performance Indicator) against the target performance (i.e. Service Level Agreement) offer to each customer, eTask.it will generate a SLA adherence score unique the industry. For example, if a provider offers 4 hr response time to changes requests, and the average respond time measure by the system is 4.5 hours, the provider will have a 4.5/5.eTask.it Quality Score: Through a combination of the Service Consistency, Customer’s Feedback and Confirmed Certifications, every provider will be given a score. Collaboration System: The portal will offer a set of basic Web 2.0 collaboration tools in order to enhance the collaboration process between the buyer and the provider during the execution of the project. Among the tools available, the portal will offer Chat rooms, tools for teleconference over the Web (e.g. Skype). For the customers that decide to use the operational platform, they will have more functionality in order to achieve even higher standards of transparency between both parties. Even though these tools are not intending to replace face-to-face interaction between client and provider, they are designed to complement the traditional commercial processes. However, for small value projects, these tools are deemed enough to completing a successful project.