By Alan Joch

Thanks to high-speed communications and the Internet, your next customer may be located half a world away, and you might never meet him or her at all. That's a far cry from the way business was conducted as recently as a decade ago. Today what might be called Globalization 2.0 is dramatically broadening the definition of business partners, employees and, perhaps most significantly, customers.

Globalization presents CIOs with new opportunities, including unprecedented numbers of customers, faster time to market, and a global talent pool. But there are risks, too. IT infrastructure architectures, which are still rigid, can hinder dynamic relationships unless they specifically promote flexible business processes. Sophisticated global supply chains, requiring complex interaction and integration with a variety of suppliers, can undo the benefits of globalization. Geographical diversity, involving different time zones and languages, can challenge collaboration efforts. And growing demand for skilled talent from businesses in emerging nations can present CIOs with new competitors in the race to attract and retain IT professionals.

Fortunately, a range of best practices are emerging that can help CIOs to not only keep pace, but also thrive in this new global age. To fully understand these new practices, it helps to first look at what's driving globalization. In the past, low-cost labor drove many offshore relationships. That's beginning to change, say some experts.