In a previous post I was saying that, one day, enterprise’s main role will be to organize a value chain and coordinate expertises, some of them being internal and some others internal. Economy’s “knowledgization” where assets resides more in individual knowledge, transaction costs near to zero which may cause a reversed application of Coase’s law, and the ability go organize without organization can make us think that enterprises will only have a role of principal and skills unifier.
I won’t be listing again the long list of thinks that are or can be outsourced today, from recruitment to innovation, without forgetting manufacturing, invoicing, R&D.
Fortunately, companies keep what matters : knowledge, expertises. But, perhaps, not for long.
Have you ever heard of KPO ? No ? So please be informed that after Business Process Outsourcing, here comes Knowledge Process Outsourcing
If companies are not (officially) talking about that, its beneficiaries are already calculating their wealth.
This phenomenon will be as important that it’s not only a business issue for some companies but it’s also about territorial developement issues at a continental scale, with business that are already ready, lots of skilled people and governments that are decided to take the most of the knowledge revolution to built their new prosperity, in the same way our occidental countries took benefit of the industrial revolution.
I’m talking about India which want to benefit of this growing trend (+46% per year) to become a leader on this market and take not less than 12 of the 17 billions dollars this market will be worth around 2010.
This excellent note provides a list of the concerned activities
Research & Development
Business and Technical Analysis
Learning Solutions
Animation & Design
Business & Market Research
Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
Medical Services
Writing & Content Development
Legal Services
Intellectual Property (IP) Research
Data Analytics
Network Management
Training & Consultancy
We can also read how Indian people take and “Intellectual Profit” from “Intellectual Partnership” where both American and Europeen only feel an “Intellectual Paranoia” and how they’re replacing our R&D by the yet P&G invented “Connect & Develop”. The art of reiventing “Interllectual property”.
Which consequences ?
• Learn to work as networks in order to stay competitive in this new world
• Maximise the way internal networks and knowledge are harnessed in order companies would not rely mainly on KPO. Seeing companies working with external talents and outsourcing theirs just because they weren’t able to harness them would be a real economic drama for our “old” coutries.
What else ?