The SMAC Opportunity Contracts: Generating Value From Responsive Agile Risk-Oriented Techniques

Abstract

The concept of Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud (SMAC) is increasingly asserted as the phenomena with the potential to change technology and business relationships. In this SMAC era plenty of Middle Circle Contractors (MCCs) are being introduced as principal suppliers, integrators or outsourced contractors. This is reducing the Client Enterprise (CE) controls over their technology assets. Because it is not mature yet, SMAC nature is very disruptive and agile, thus rapidly changing the landscape of contracting, and ultimately turning the long-held promise of utility based computing into a reality. Such changes necessitate contracting transformation with innovated approaches to get targeted benefits, reduce risks and enhance operational controls. The main objective of this chapter is to provide guidelines to generate SMAC Opportunity Contracts (OCs) that are responsive and agile to provide the maximum business value, enhance risk governance and re-invent the roles and obligations in an ever-changing environment.