Mobile ad numbers up

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20023371-37.html
What do you know, it seems some people actually do click on those ads on various apps. Maybe they are like me and hit the link on accident when trying to click on another link. But this shows that there is money to be made, even in the smaller less flashy smart phone apps. Advertising has followed technology, from newspapers which in their current form may not last 10 years to websites to smart phones. This story is also about the continuing iPhone/Driod battle for smart phone supremacy. iPhone has been the leader, but Droid has outpaced it, what does Apple do now. This battle will be fun to watch as it unfolds over the next few years, especially with Microsoft unveiling the Windows 7 phone. In the end, the market will decide what product is the best.

Vendor Selection

I think one of the key things when choosing a vendor for a company is that vendor's history. What has that vendor done in the past, how have they worked with their past clients. In that case it may be best to contact those clients to gather information about the working relationship. Even if this is a brand new company trying to get its first contract, make contact with people who have worked with them before to see how they worked with clients. It does not matter if they have the same culture or personality as their clients, what matters is can they get the job done.

Costs should be the number two concern, will you get what you pay for, again contact with that vendor's other clients can help with deciding if it is worth working with that vendor. Now it could be helpful when looking at other clients that have a similar culture to your own, but again, I don't believe culture is important. I would actually be concerned with a company that is trying to work with me based on similar cultures, what are they hiding about their work?

Outsourcing an issue in areas besides technology

Outsourcing has emerged as a contentious issue in the past decade. When someone says "outsourcing" when referring to a job, almost everybody thinks of some type of technology job going to Asia, particularly India. But outsourcing is more than just technology, but it is just as controversial. This past week, Qantas Airways had an engine blow up on one of its planes in Singapore, fortunately the plane safely landed and everyone survived. But now a mechanics union is questioning the airline's decision to outsource maintenance.

I would venture to guess that this, just like any IT outsourcing, has its problems if not done correctly. First off, is this something that should be outsourced. I would argue that no company should outsource its core service, for Qantas that would be flying people. Is maintenance of its aircraft a part of that core competencey? Maybe. If planes are crashing people won't fly that airline. Is there a company that can do a better job maintaining aircraft letting Qantas focus on customer service? Possibly.

In the end, I think if outsourcing is handled properly and the correct business functions are outsourced, then it works for everyone involved. Even people who may loose their jobs can benefit if they look for the right opportunities. Also, look at competitors and learn lessons from their failures or successes. If Qantas continues to have troubles, then maybe a different airline takes another approach to cutting costs. If an IT company has problems outsourcing, another company may step in and claim to be able to do a better job. The people who can be most innovative in an outsourcing world will have the chance to be most successful.