EclecticLip

I was recently told that two local behemoths — BC Hydro and Best Buy — brought consulting firm Accenture in, to run their IT groups.  The idea is that Accenture’s expertise will enable them to provide the IT function cheaper than the two aforementioned behemoths would be able to, even with a profit margin.

This immediately made me think of mitochondria, the “engines” of living cells.  The thinking is that a couple billion years ago, advantages accrued to cells which had assimilated / “swallowed” mitochondria: the latter were very efficient at generating ATP, a chemical used by the cells for energy.

In the corporate analogue, BC Hydro and Best Buy would be the host cells, and Accenture (or other outsourced IT service providers like IBM) would be the mitochondria.  The key measure is whether the aforementioned firms do indeed enjoy advantages through this activity — or whether they decide to return to the DIY path, down the road…