UST Blogs: Digital Dialogue

UST Blogs: Digital Dialogue http://www.ust-global.com/blog/ Read and get into the world of endless possibilities at UST Global http://www.ust-global.com/ UST Global ../../images/sm_logo.gif 46 104 The Facebook Standard: Consumers Raise the Bar for Enterprise IT http://www.ust-global.com/blog/facebook-standard.aspx

05/16/2012

Social sites like Facebook and mobile technology like the iPad have turned the employees you serve into uber-consumers of technology. Their expectations are sky-high. Literally.

In this hilarious video, comedian Louis CK offers a glimpse into our sense of technology entitlement. At about two minutes into the video, he reports being on an airplane that offers high-speed Internet – the newest technological advancement that he knows exists.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/facebook-standard.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/facebook-standard.aspx 0 May 16, 2012 Tony Velleca Strategic Partners Tie Their Success to Your Success http://www.ust-global.com/blog/strategic-partners-success.aspx

08/16/2011

"If you don't look good, we don't look good."

Forgive the Vidal Sasoon reference, but that old advertising tagline sure made a good point. A partnership is only successful if the customer is happy with the outcome.

In this blog series so far, we've established that strategic partners are customer-centric, they inspire thought leadership in themselves and in their customers, and they achieve business innovation for their clients.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/strategic-partners-success.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/strategic-partners-success.aspx 0 August 16, 2011 Tony Velleca Leading Crisis Management in the BPO World http://www.ust-global.com/blog/crisis-management.aspx

08/11/2011

A leader is proven in times of crisis.

A lot of people can be successful when things are going well. But it takes a true leader to create positive impact from a crisis situation – to maximize the potential of any given challenging situation and use it to reach the next level.

In the middle of a crisis, it's natural for everyone to be in panic mode. The more critical the business issue at stake, the higher the level of panic. But if we continue to operate in that mode, it will make the situation worse and continue the downward spiral, ultimately resulting in critical breakdown.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/crisis-management.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/crisis-management.aspx 0 August 11, 2011 Sajesh Gopinath Strategic Partners Achieve Business Innovation (Not Just IT Innovation) http://www.ust-global.com/blog/achieve-business-innovation.aspx

08/08/2011

Most CIOs I know are highly creative people. They have to constantly assess new technologies, design new ways to solve problems, and manage complex implementations throughout global organizations.

Sure, there is a lot of technical knowledge behind each of those tasks. But it takes an agile mind to accomplish all of that successfully.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/achieve-business-innovation.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/achieve-business-innovation.aspx 0 August 8, 2011 Tony Velleca Strategic Partners Inspire and Enable Higher Thinking http://www.ust-global.com/blog/strategic-partners-inspire.aspx

08/04/2011

The CIO has a unique challenge among all C-level executives. More than the others, you have to strike a balance between your left brain and right brain. You have to keep the traditional IT aspects functioning at optimal levels, streamlining operations and reducing costs.

But you also have to be creative, optimistic and far-reaching, brainstorming ideas for how to stretch the business into new areas.

This requires more than technical expertise. It demands thought leadership.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/strategic-partners-inspire.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/strategic-partners-inspire.aspx 0 August 4, 2011 Tony Velleca Message to CIOs: Your IT Vendor Partnerships Must Be Strategic. Your Success Depends On It. http://www.ust-global.com/blog/message-to-cios.aspx

08/01/2011

The phrase “strategic partner” has become so familiar that I fear it’s lost its ability to convey its own importance. Every time two companies announce a partnership, they call it strategic.

But slapping the label on it doesn’t make it so.

Here’s why being truly strategic matters: the blistering pace of change in information technology is transforming the role of the CIO. To survive, CIOs must become business strategists. To become business strategists, CIOs must be free to focus on business outcomes – not just IT outcomes – and they must have service providers that will partner with them in that endeavor.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/message-to-cios.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/message-to-cios.aspx 0 August 1, 2011 Tony Velleca The Possibilities of Partnership - Choose Wisely, Make it Strategic http://www.ust-global.com/blog/the-possibilities-of-partnership.aspx

07/28/2011

There's always been an element of trust needed when choosing an IT outsourcing partner. But never before has that relationship been so critical to the success of the organization and the CIO as an individual.

The nature of the outsourcing relationship is changing. To add value to an organization, CIOs and their IT outsourcing partners must base those relationships on tangible business results that help move the organization from ordinary to extraordinary.

The possibilities are endless for those who are able to build a relationship that helps enable innovation, increase revenue and achieve market leadership.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/the-possibilities-of-partnership.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/the-possibilities-of-partnership.aspx 0 July 28, 2011 Tony Velleca Freeing Up IT So They Can Get Down to Business http://www.ust-global.com/blog/freeing-up.aspx

07/25/2011

The importance of knowledge acquisition and management, as well as the standardization of processes and measurement of results, cannot be underestimated.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/freeing-up.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/freeing-up.aspx 0 July 25, 2011 Kailash Attal Meeting Critical Success Factors: A Team Effort http://www.ust-global.com/blog/team-effort.aspx

07/21/2011

I recently wrote about the importance of teamwork during the journey to Managed Services. The second leg of this journey, the Transition phase, lays the groundwork for a strong, ongoing working relationship between the client and service provider teams.

Each phase also has critical success factors that must be met before moving on to the next phase. I talk about these in my video blog on Managed Services. For example, in the initial Planning phase, establishing a baseline scope of service and conducting a portfolio analysis are critical success factors.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/team-effort.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/team-effort.aspx 0 July 21, 2011 Kailash Attal Mitigating Risk in the Midst of Change http://www.ust-global.com/blog/mitigating-risk.aspx

07/18/2011

I’ve talked about the beginning of the journey to Managed Services, but what happens in those early planning stages and how does it prepare you for the more complex and potentially risky Transition phase?

As I’ve said, transitioning to Outcome-based Managed Services begins with careful planning, a defined scope of work, and a fixed, predictable cost, all leading to the delivery of a measured set of outcomes.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/mitigating-risk.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/mitigating-risk.aspx 0 July 18, 2011 Kailash Attal Start Your Journey to Managed Services on the Right Foot http://www.ust-global.com/blog/start-your-journey-managed-services.aspx

07/14/2011

“The beginning is the most important part of the work.” So said the Classical Greek philosopher Plato, and we apply this theory to almost everything we want to accomplish. Take for instance the transformation to Outcome-based Managed Services. As with any journey -- and we do think of it as a journey -- you must start out on the right foot if you want to reach your destination without stumbling or losing your way.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/start-your-journey-managed-services.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/start-your-journey-managed-services.aspx 0 July 14, 2011 Kailash Attal What the Grandmasters Can Teach us About Maximizing BPO Potential http://www.ust-global.com/blog/BPO-potential.aspx

07/06/2011

Every mortgage company today is ripe for reinvention.

But most are missing out because they're focusing solely on reaction.

If you run a mortgage lending or servicing company today, you're facing market disruption. Unemployment has led to a high percentage of distressed mortgages, which creates chaos on your company's business processes and systems. Companies face increasing scrutiny on loan quality and policy adherence, requirements to complete more exhaustive reviews on a higher percentage of transactions with fewer staff, and continuing pressure to fast-track loan processing while ensuring compliance.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/BPO-potential.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/BPO-potential.aspx 0 July 06, 2011 Sajesh Gopinath A Smooth Transfer To Outcome-Based Managed Services http://www.ust-global.com/blog/smooth-transfer.aspx

06/27/2011

In my previous article, I talked about the paradigm shift in IT brought on by the New Normal economic order, and how the new Outcome-based Managed Service model supports IT's new role as a business growth enabler.

But how do we get from here to there? And how do we address the concerns that CIOs have, rightly so, about the risks.

As the Greek philosopher Plato said, "The beginning is the most important part of the work." So it is too with the conversion to Outcome-based Managed Services. Those of us who guide companies through the process feel it helpful to think of the move to Managed Services as a journey, and it's imperative to start that journey on the right foot.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/smooth-transfer.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/smooth-transfer.aspx 0 June 27, 2011 Kailash Attal Could Your Application Knowledge Walk Out the Door? http://www.ust-global.com/blog/application-knowledge.aspx

06/21/2011

Company executives like to maintain control of IT system activities by keeping them in-house, where they are "all visible, all the time." I can understand this feeling because, as I revealed in my last post, I've always wanted to know about everything that goes on around me, how it all works.

But as I also noted, this visibility and control comes at a steep price: the rising Total Cost of Ownership. Why? The traditional mission of IT has been to keep an organization's systems "up and running." As IT systems grew, added more services and became more complex, the IT department simply hired more staff to meet the increasing demand. And so TCO was destined to keep on growing.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/application-knowledge.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/application-knowledge.aspx 0 June 21, 2011 Kailash Attal The Traditional Services Model is No Longer Optimal http://www.ust-global.com/blog/traditional-services-model.aspx

06/14/2011

When I was a young boy growing up in India, my grandfather would ride me through the busy streets of our small town on his bicycle. I was amazed at the buzz of activity around me and wanted to understand all that I saw. I wanted to know how everything worked."

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/traditional-services-model.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/traditional-services-model.aspx 0 June 14, 2011 Kailash Attal Excellence of Execution http://www.ust-global.com/blog/excellence-of-execution.aspx

06/03/2011

The business offerings of UST Global are anchored on a well-organized Global Engagement Model, ensuring cost-effective solutions for the client, without compromising on scale or quality. The Global Engagement Model involves a seamless blend of local expertise and off-shore productivity, customized according to specific requirements of the client."

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/excellence-of-execution.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/excellence-of-execution.aspx 0 June 03, 2011 Alexander Varghese, Rajeev Nair, Aravind Ramachandran and Nandagopal Nair Transforming lives http://www.ust-global.com/blog/transforming-lives.aspx

05/27/2011

Even in the midst of such positive progress, UST Global has not disregarded the commitment to society. The late Mr GA Menon articulated our mission very clearly: "UST Global will help people less fortunate than ourselves and mentor youngsters, helping them become achievers. We are involved in something higher than ourselves. You should be in UST Global because you want to be a part of a noble mission. If you believe in this aim and you are inspired and motivated by this belief, no one can stop us."

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/transforming-lives.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/transforming-lives.aspx 0 May 27, 2011 Alexander Varghese, Rajeev Nair, Aravind Ramachandran and Nandagopal Nair To Reach the Next Level of Success – Learn Your Lessons http://www.ust-global.com/blog/learn-your-lessons.aspx

05/10/2011

I’m passionate about chess, and one of the things I like best about it is the ability to recreate the game afterward. When I was competing in tournament chess, I used to replay games sitting on the other side of the table to see if I could learn something new.

In mortgage outsourcing, this is the area that receives the least attention. Once the project or engagement objectives are met, most buyers and providers shake hands and start thinking about what’s next.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/learn-your-lessons.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/learn-your-lessons.aspx 0 May 10, 2011 Sajesh Gopinath Create an Environment Where Disruption Thrives http://www.ust-global.com/blog/create-environment-where-disruption-thrives.aspx

05/2/2011

In the last blog I talked about generating endless possibilities for your team. But just as important as having a team that can be disruptive, is creating an environment in which that kind of bold thinking will thrive.

In a comment to my article here, Fazlin makes the valid point that "Innovation is the most misused word currently. All companies talk about it but not sure how many of them really keep an open culture for innovation."

So, what does create a culture open to disruptive innovation?

Innovation thrives in a culture that expects ideas, encourages risks and removes the fear of failure to the point at which people are actually willing to take risks.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/create-environment-where-disruption-thrives.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/create-environment-where-disruption-thrives.aspx 0 May 2, 2011 Tony Velleca Managed Services: The New Normal http://www.ust-global.com/blog/managed-services-new-normal.aspx

04/26/2011

As the business environment becomes even more competitive, the current IT trend toward the Outcome-based Engagement Model of Managed Services is poised to serve organizations well into the future. New Normal Catalysts are leading the way. Are you a New Normal Catalyst?

The phrase “New Normal” was coined because the economy emerging from the 2008 financial crisis is fundamentally different than the market we knew before. More than just a regular business cycle, the New Normal represents a basic restructuring of our economic order.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/managed-services-new-normal.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/managed-services-new-normal.aspx 2 April 26, 2011 Kailash Attal Passion is the Most Important Characteristic in a BPO Partner http://www.ust-global.com/blog/passion-in-BPO-partner.aspx

04/21/2011

I play chess, and growing up in India my childhood idol was GM Viswanathan Anand, who just happens to be the current world chess champion. When I was a kid, he was the role model in chess for every Indian. I used to watch him and recreate his games, and I read every interview he gave. His passion for the game was infectious.

In any endeavor – whether it's business, sports or chess – the players with the most passion will rise to the top. They will be the ones to spend more time studying strategy, honing skills, analyzing opponents and practicing.

Likewise, from my experience, the single biggest differentiator between success and failure in a BPO relationship is passion. A BPO partner who doesn't have a passion for the customer's business and industry will not be able to execute at the highest level.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/passion-in-BPO-partner.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/passion-in-BPO-partner.aspx 0 April 21, 2011 Sajesh Gopinath Generating Endless Possibilities for Your Team http://www.ust-global.com/blog/generating-endless-possibilities-for-your-team.aspx

04/19/2011

You're only as good as your team.

We've talked about the endless possibilities for CIOs, and how disruptive innovation is the key to realizing those possibilities.

But at the core of everything is your team. Are you – and the people working with you – able to support and advance your efforts to be disruptive?

In my article "The New Normal," I talk about building a team of change leaders. If you're the team leader – whether as CIO or in another role – it's up to you to set the example. It's up to you to recognize and cultivate the skills that are required in today's New Normal.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/generating-endless-possibilities-for-your-team.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/generating-endless-possibilities-for-your-team.aspx 0 April 19, 2011 Tony Velleca Disruptive is the New Normal Approach to Innovation http://www.ust-global.com/blog/disruptive-new-normal-approach-innovation.aspx

04/12/2011

What does it mean to disrupt?

We know disruptive innovation when we see it: iTunes, Netflix, pocket calculators, the PC.

But considering what "disrupt" actually means, it's easy to be intimidated. Webster says to disrupt is "to throw into disorder or confusion. To interrupt or impede the usual course or harmony of. To rupture."

It sounds painful, especially compared with "safer" innovations. There are three types: Traditional innovation, Evolutionary innovation and Disruptive innovation.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/disruptive-new-normal-approach-innovation.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/disruptive-new-normal-approach-innovation.aspx 1 April 12, 2011 Tony Velleca Discovering Our Own Endless Possibilities http://www.ust-global.com/blog/discovering-our-own-endless-possibilities.aspx

04/07/2011

Possibilities don't always present themselves as possibilities. In fact, often they're disguised as problems.

I came to California straight out of college and purchased a 36-foot trawler in King Harbor Marina within two weeks of arriving. I have plenty of boating experience on a lake. But I had never piloted an ocean-going vessel. My first challenge came before I even hit the water - insurance companies didn't like the idea of insuring someone with no ocean experience. After many calls, I finally found someone who would take a chance on me. That boat was my home for the next five years. Since then I've captained crews all over the world.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/discovering-our-own-endless-possibilities.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/discovering-our-own-endless-possibilities.aspx 0 April 07, 2011 Tony Velleca Tony Vellca's views on the Computerworld "Premier 100" IT Leaders Conference 2011 sessions http://www.ust-global.com/blog/premier100-IT-leaders-conference-2011.aspx

03/22/2011

Tony Vellca's views on the Computerworld 'Premier 100' IT Leaders Conference 2011 sessions.

Session 1: The Possibilities for IT; Session
2: Cloud - No Decision Is a Decision; Session
3: The New Knowledge Requirement for CIOs: Understanding Human Nature

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/premier100-IT-leaders-conference-2011.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/premier100-IT-leaders-conference-2011.aspx 0 March 22, 2011 Tony Vellca Did the FDIC's risk pay off? http://www.ust-global.com/blog/did-fdic-risk-pay-off.aspx

03/21/2011

As they say, "Risk is your best friend." The FDIC took a serious risk during the mortgage crisis, providing assistance to financial institutions to take over failed banks. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the FDIC's tab for failed U.S banks nears $9 billion, and FDIC officials expect to make an additional $21.5 billion in payments over the next three years...

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/did-fdic-risk-pay-off.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/did-fdic-risk-pay-off.aspx 1 March 21, 2011 Sajesh Gopinath The Cloud + Mobile + Social Paradigm - a Business Imperative in Today's New Normal http://www.ust-global.com/blog/cloud-mobile-social-paradigm.aspx

03/21/2011

There is something happening in IT that is unlike anything we have experienced in a long time. The convergence of cloud computing, mobile applications and social networking provides businesses with the ultimate triple combo - a powerful new paradigm for achieving disruptive innovation...

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/cloud-mobile-social-paradigm.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/cloud-mobile-social-paradigm.aspx 0 March 21, 2011 Tony Velleca The mortgage industry is ripe for reinvention http://www.ust-global.com/blog/mortgage-industry-ripe-reinvention.aspx

03/14/2011

An article in Forbes India ("Outsourcing's House Call") discusses the new opportunities for business process outsourcing providers in the mortgage industry. It echoes what UST Global has been saying all along – that there are plenty of opportunities for mortgage lenders and servicers to boost productivity, reduce costs and improve quality...

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/mortgage-industry-ripe-reinvention.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/mortgage-industry-ripe-reinvention.aspx 0 March 14, 2011 Sajesh Gopinath Transformed – Celebrating Corporate Responsibility at UST Global http://www.ust-global.com/blog/transformed-celebrating-CSR.aspx

03/7/2011

UST Global's overall corporate social responsibility direction will be driven by its values and the framework of the ACT program. The ACT program stands for Adopt Communities for Transformation program and UST Global will use its workforce to positively impact communities where they live and work.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/transformed-celebrating-CSR.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/transformed-celebrating-CSR.aspx 2 March 7, 2011 Mary Johnson A road less travelled http://www.ust-global.com/blog/road-less-travelled.aspx

02/21/2011

Baptized at a time when the panic surrounding Y2K swept world business, UST Global has turned out to be no less than a phenomenon in terms of growth. Having started operations in 1999 with just 14 people, the workforce has, over a short period of 10 years, grown to over 7000 proficient individuals working from 18 locations spread across 4 continents.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/road-less-travelled.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/road-less-travelled.aspx 0 February 21, 2011 Alexander Varghese, Rajeev Nair, Aravind Ramachandran and Nandagopal Nair The New Normal - Endless Possibilities for CIOs http://www.ust-global.com/blog/thenewnormal.aspx

01/21/2011

CIOs are the only people within the organization who have an in-depth understanding of the technological changes and related business opportunities. Hence, CIOs today have a mandate to invest in new areas with no pre-determined business cases. So what's the New Normal?

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/thenewnormal.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/thenewnormal.aspx 2 January 21, 2011 Tony Velleca Revolutionary Innovation http://www.ust-global.com/blog/revolutionaryinno.aspx

01/07/2011

For all companies there’s room for transformation, and always room for growth. Revolutionary innovation is the framework for stretching the perspective of what is possible in order to uncover new, measurable and sustainable ways to provide value. More than finding merely unnoticed intersections, the end result of revolutionary innovation is the creation of opportunities where none were previously seen.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/revolutionaryinno.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/revolutionaryinno.aspx 1 January 07, 2011 Lawrence I Lerner Consideration for moving apps to Cloud http://www.ust-global.com/blog/consideration.aspx

12/29/2010

There is a lot of buzz around Cloud Computing with every enterprise looking, albeit skeptically, at how they can leverage these new operating models – of IaaS, PaaS, SaaS. So what is this buzz about? Is it just a hype? A technology trend? Or does it actually offer an advantage over the typical software/solution delivery models?

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/consideration.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/consideration.aspx 1 December 29, 2010 Mandira Shah About UST Global http://www.ust-global.com/blog/aboutUST.aspx

12/23/2011

Ours is a story of how a winner is born from a blend of undying passion, relentless commitment and a purpose beyond self. In corporate terms, UST Global is a new generation pioneer with a robust portfolio of offerings in the IT services sector. Headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California, UST Global is part of the $7 billion Comcraft group, under the umbrella of the renowned Chandaria family.

]]> http://www.ust-global.com/blog/aboutUST.aspx#comments http://www.ust-global.com/blog/aboutUST.aspx 0 December 23, 2010 Alexander Varghese, Rajeev Nair, Aravind Ramachandran and Nandagopal Nair