Recently I met with the folks from Yamatake Corporation to discuss the company's new forecasting and estimation software, which it has just introduced into the North American market.

Some of our best friends are lawyers. Indeed, one of us is a lawyer, and the other one works with them frequently as an expert witness and expert consultant. However, from the point of view of an IT project, lawyers are generally not viewed as assets -- at least not until the project is falling apart and one side or the other is threatening to sue.

In today's e-conomy, time is bending all the rules. Corporations across all industries face strategic inflection points, those described by Intel Chairman Andy Grove as "the time in the life of a business when its fundamentals are about to change."

In today's e-conomy, time is bending all the rules. Corporations across all industries face strategic inflection points, those described by Intel Chairman Andy Grove as "the time in the life of a business when its fundamentals are about to change."

In today's e-conomy, time is bending all the rules. Corporations across all industries face strategic inflection points, those described by Intel Chairman Andy Grove as "the time in the life of a business when its fundamentals are about to change."

You are a software engineer working on a software product, and you are not sure of how a customer wants a new change request implemented. You try to get clarification, but the customer cannot articulate the request. To shortcut the process, your customer provides you with a copy of a user manual from another software product.

You are a software engineer working on a software product, and you are not sure of how a customer wants a new change request implemented. You try to get clarification, but the customer cannot articulate the request. To shortcut the process, your customer provides you with a copy of a user manual from another software product.

Perception is reality. It is a bitter truth, but one that haunts IT professionals time and time again -- from the understanding of user requirements, to expectations management, to product selection and contract negotiation.

Perception is reality. It is a bitter truth, but one that haunts IT professionals time and time again -- from the understanding of user requirements, to expectations management, to product selection and contract negotiation.

Disclaimer I am not a lawyer, and no part of this article should be interpreted as legal advice. Do not act or rely upon law-related information in this article without seeking the advice of an attorney.

Companies turn to outsourcing for many different reasons. Some companies want to pursue new opportunities, others seek to offload nonstrategic functions, and still others want to reduce and control costs. Yet despite these different motivating factors, there is a common thread underlying each of these decisions to outsource.

Companies turn to outsourcing for many different reasons. Some companies want to pursue new opportunities, others seek to offload nonstrategic functions, and still others want to reduce and control costs. Yet despite these different motivating factors, there is a common thread underlying each of these decisions to outsource.

There are many things that prompt companies to consider outsourcing. Some organizations want to focus on their core competencies and offload nonstrategic functions to the outsourcer. Others want to pursue a new opportunity, change direction, or correct problems in their IT organization. None of these companies, however, would be willing to consider outsourcing if it meant a deterioration in service.

There are many things that prompt companies to consider outsourcing. Some organizations want to focus on their core competencies and offload nonstrategic functions to the outsourcer. Others want to pursue a new opportunity, change direction, or correct problems in their IT organization. None of these companies, however, would be willing to consider outsourcing if it meant a deterioration in service.

The Internet and ever-increasing bandwidth have spawned a new method of delivering software functionality -- the application service provider (ASP) model. An ASP creatively combines aspects of software packages, outsourcing, and Internet delivery, allowing customers to receive all the benefits of using a software application without the associated burdens.

The Internet and ever-increasing bandwidth have spawned a new method of delivering software functionality -- the application service provider (ASP) model. An ASP creatively combines aspects of software packages, outsourcing, and Internet delivery, allowing customers to receive all the benefits of using a software application without the associated burdens.

Sole-source outsourcing relationships are dead. At least that's the feedback from Cutter Consortium's latest outsourcing survey in which 83% of respondents indicated that they are currently involved in multivendor engagements. Gone are the days when a single vendor provided everything necessary to address an organization's IT needs.

Sole-source outsourcing relationships are dead. At least that's the feedback from Cutter Consortium's latest outsourcing survey in which 83% of respondents indicated that they are currently involved in multivendor engagements. Gone are the days when a single vendor provided everything necessary to address an organization's IT needs.