- Microsoft cracks down on Windows 11 upgrades for 'incompatible' PCs, but there's a workaround
- Learn a new language with Babbel for 74% off right now
- This Bluetooth dongle will diagnose your check engine light (and now it's less than ever)
- I tested the first Android phone with Qi2 wireless charging, and its best feature caught me off guard
- This 12-in-1 electric screwdriver is my go-to tool, and it's available for under $50
Refactoring your IT sourcing strategy for digital success
Composing a workforce is like playing chess. When it’s done well, every choice is calculated, made mindfully of both its short- and long-run impacts, and of the delicate balance in which it must hold certain key variables — cost, productivity, digital maturity, and the potential to build capabilities that last.
In striking this balance, digital and technology leaders have long optimized for cost, but so rapidly is business evolving that many of them are reconsidering that approach. Among such leaders is Barry Perkins.
From 2011 to 2023, Perkins led technology in various senior-level roles for global property and casualty group Zurich Insurance. Then, in September 2023, he became COO of the company’s North American outfit (ZNA), revenues of which exceeded $22 billion that year. Atop his tech-related responsibilities, Perkins inherited responsibility for ZNA’s operational functions, such as premium audit and call-centers, and for thousands of global IT workers. Of the latter, 70% to 80% were supplied by strategic partners.