Cognizanti Journal - December 2011 Issue, Cognizanti Journal

"You've no doubt heard the ancient Chinese proverb, ""May you live in interesting times."" Look around. These times are certainly interesting. Take the 18-month-long ""Great Recession,"" which according to the National Bureau of Economic Research ended in June 2009. It doesn't quite feel over, right? In fact, signs of a double-dip recession are lighting up the performance management dashboards of heads ofstate and CEOsthroughout the developed world. Then there's the sovereign debtcrisisthat – despite off and on signs of resolution – persists across the stagnant economies of the Eurozone and the U.S. like a bad odor for which there is no air freshener. Amid all this uncertainty, businesses must plan for the worst, and hope for the best. While the kneejerk reaction may be to lock up the corporate treasury and ride out the storm, history has shown that companies that invest in process and technological change during down economic cycles usually emerge fitter when business improves. That’s why today’s senior leaders need to rethink, reinvent and rewire their operations. To help open eyes and minds to the art of the possible, we’ve dedicated this issue of Cognizanti to delivering key business functions as a service. It is our belief that to contend with escalating anxiety, companies need to reassess what is core to the business and maintain a laser focus on activities that are truly differentiating in the minds of customers, while jettisoning activities that add little business value. In this issue, we illustrate how business process as a service is taking form within key functional areas, from digital asset management and order management, through sales and marketing operations. From there, we examine why this new approach to business demands new governance models and how corporate IT organizations must develop new skills and disciplines to keep pace. Remember, as another infamous proverb reveals, ""Great things cannot be accomplished in a short period of time."" The transition to business process services will evolve, slowly. Getting there will take vision, intestinal fortitude and a willingness to wager on more innovative and virtual ways of working."