Event: Outsourcing of information technology and business process services is a rapidly expanding and changing business phenomenon with worldwide revenues of $450 billion. A panel of industry insiders will provide an unusual opportunity to discuss this sometimes controversial and often misunderstood field and to detail how Carnegie Mellon University's Information Technology Services Qualification Services Center (ITSqc) is helping to improve relations between service providers and their clients.

Venkatesh Roddam, CEO of Satyam BPO, the outsourcing arm of Satyam Computer Services, Ltd.; Tony Macina, former general manager for global service delivery at IBM Global Services; Shari L. Dove, senior executive for outsourcing at Accenture; and Shawn McCray, partner in TPI, the world's leading sourcing advisory firm, will discuss how the ITSqc's certification program and best practices models have reduced risks and enhanced the bottom line for both providers and clients. Both clients and service providers sometimes have difficulty determining how best to deliver services, evaluate performance and resolve problems. The ITSqc has developed best practices models, now being adopted in more than 40 countries, which help both groups address these challenges. In addition to the panel, industry representatives who are members of the ITSqc Consortium will be available to speak with reporters. For more information, see http://itsqc.cmu.edu

When: 2 p.m., Thursday, May 8

Where: McKenna Room, second floor, University Center, Carnegie Mellon University

About Carnegie Mellon: Carnegie Mellon is a private research university with a distinctive mix of programs in engineering, computer science, robotics, business, public policy, fine arts and the humanities. More than 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students receive an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration, and innovation. A small student-to-faculty ratio provides an opportunity for close interaction between students and professors. While technology is pervasive on its 144-acre Pittsburgh campus, Carnegie Mellon is also distinctive among leading research universities for the world-renowned programs in its College of Fine Arts. A global university, Carnegie Mellon has campuses in Silicon Valley, Calif., and Qatar, and programs in Asia, Australia and Europe. For more, see www.cmu.edu.