Need Better Service-Level Metrics?  Ian Hayes recently participated in an "Ask the Expert"  webcast for the International Association for Contracting and Commercial Management. (IACCM) focusing on the issues and challenges facing contracting managers and sourcing executives as they attempt to translate business terms into actionable metrics.  His advice can be found in our latest white paper, "Creating Better Service Level Metrics" and in the accompanying presentation,  "Designing Metrics for Service Level Agreements."  Stay tuned for more articles and resources on sourcing, productivity and satisfaction metrics, measurement and management!

Recent News Items.   Ian Hayes and Clarity Consulting have been quoted in recent articles published in Baseline Magazine ("How Good are Your Service-Level Agreements?" by Ericka Chickowski)  and CIO online.  ("ABC: An introduction to Service-Level Agreements  (SLAs)" by Lauren Gibbons Paul)

Outsourcing Trend.  Moving Beyond Ad-Hoc Outsourcing, discusses how many companies are seeking to take their outsourcing arrangements to the next level, investing in stronger SLAs, sourcing management tools and PMOs.  For background, read
Using a PMO to Expand Your Outsourcing Program, Metrics for IT Outsourcing, Avoiding Seven Common Pitfalls of Service Level Agreements, and
Customer Happiness: The True Measure of Outsourcing Success, or visit the Sourcing Knowledge Center.

IT Strategy and Management.  For quick advice and tutorials, visit our IT Strategy Knowledge Center, or read these latest articles: Managing the Project Portfolio, Determining TCO, ROI and Other Key Financial Metrics, Tying IT Expenditures to Business Value Delivered, Using IT to Generate Improvements in Business Performance, and Five Pragmatic Rules for Performing Believable ROIs.

White Papers! 
Avoiding Seven Common Pitfalls of Service Level Agreements: Gaining Greater Value and Reducing Costs gives advice on successfully setting and managing service levels.
A Five Step Approach to Protecting and Optimizing Software Investments looks at a new tool from SourceIQ providing strategic and tactical insight into source code portfolios.

Archived Webinars! View archived webinars on Increasing the Value and Success of Your Outsourcing Efforts and Using IT Portfolio Management to Improve IT ROI.   Also see these two popular presentations from the Delivering Project Excellence Conference: Five Principles for Creating Believable ROIs and Lessons Learned from Being an Expert Witness.

IT Product and Service Marketing.  Discerning buyers, competition, and price pressures put a premium on effective marketing and positioning of IT products and services.  We help IT solution providers develop successful, comprehensive marketing and positioning plans, and create the white papers, presentations, customer surveys, and other collateral to support those plans.  Read more about our Consulting Services, Content Creation Services, and guidelines on What Makes a Good White Paper.

Upcoming Speaking Engagement!  Mass Technology Leadership "China, India, Russia: Our Partners in the New Global Economy"  Event April 17, 2008

Ian Hayes is speaking about  "Global Trends and Opportunities in IT Outsourcing within China"