Take note if you are the CEO of a company (especially in a high-risk high tech industry) that has implemented a significant outsourcing strategy or has considered doing so.

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E-mail involving customer data or high-level strategy may be suitable for outsourcing but not cloud computing.

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Outsourcing some mobile development work has emerged as another strategy for addressing the shortage.

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Barnet Alliance for Public Services, which organised the event, said a study by the European Services Strategy Unit found 25% of public outsourcing schemes had failed or gone seriously wrong.

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As I discuss in The Business Strategy in a Semiglobal Economy, for instance, outsourcing of manufacturing is feasible only if it can be separated from other supply chain activities: product development, branding, marketing, distribution, and after sales services.

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For example, while the short-term advantage of outsourcing manufacturing processes allows for a satisfactory quarterly balance sheet, this strategy lacks long-term vision and can be an inefficient means of overseas operation.

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One strategy was to invest in companies that played off the trend in outsourcing.

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On the other hand, consider the changes from the early 1990s from laughing at the notion of outsourcing the work of entire departments to distant countries, to embracing as a key organizational strategy.

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