When it comes to the outsourcing process, going it alone is one way to cut costs. But working with an experienced outsourcing advisor may save you money during the procurement process and down the road.
Sure, you could hire a big, expensive outsourcing consulting firm to guide you step-by-step through the IT services procurement process. They've got experience, off-the-rack SLAs and contractual provisions, and enough templates and processes to fill a large conference room. But not everyone can or will pay $300-plus an hour for outsourcing handholding anymore.
You don't need emerging markets experience to make it as a global CIO. But you do need a diverse set of skills and the willingness to shake up the status quo.
Promote clear rules. Define which decisions are global versus which can be made locally.
Outcome-based outsourcing is the holy grail of IT services. Both customers and providers agree that if they can figure out a way to tie sourcing strategy to business results everyone will be happier in the end.
Public sector outsourcing is "in," as state and local IT leaders contend with shrinking budgets, limited human resources, and increasing demand for IT services. "There appears to be a perfect storm for IT outsourcing at the state and local level today," says Jason Khan, chief technology strategist for Washington, D.C.-based Touchstone Consulting Group.
IT services industry watchers say the question is not if, but when the next big merger between outsourcing vendors will happen.
The last days of an outsourcing contract are the perfect time for customers to bargain with their IT service providers for better service and prices. Yet few customers take advantage of that end-of-life leverage, and those who do often wield the power as a cudgel and do more harm than good. Here are six best practices for making the most of the last days of any outsourcing deal.
Let's face it: As CIO, you're lonely. You've got teams of people working below you, a boss and board weighing in from above and executive peers who don't get what you do. What you need is a partner.
More IT leaders are spreading their application development and maintenance work among several outsourcing vendors. Multisourcing, as the practice is called, increases competition, breadth of resources, availability and management overhead.
IT outsourcing industry analysts raise questions about the future of ACS's IT services business in the aftermath of its acquisition by Xerox.
Xerox's $6.4 billion bid for business process outsourcer Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) is the second merger announced between an enterprise hardware maker and a technology services provider in a week. Just seven days earlier, Dell went public with its plans to purchase Perot Systems.
"Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I'll give you a man who will make history," James Cash Penney, founder of the now-famous chain of eponymous retail stores, is reported to have said. "Give me a man with no goals and I'll give you a stock clerk."
The final months of an IT services contract are an ideal time for outsourcing customers to negotiate with their vendors for improvements in price and service quality. As the deal end-date approaches, the customer wields more power than at any other point in the relationship since the client can seriously consider alternatives without the threat of termination fees or other penalties.
Prices for outsourced desktop support have been decreasing steadily over the last three to four years, but some recent rock-bottom deals may be too good to be true.