Abstract
IT outsourcing has come a long way from the time when it was nearly taboo for companies to share their outsourcing habits, to the time when outsourcing is now discussed as a strategic necessity for some companies to stay in business.
Today, outsourcing is a respected business topic considered along with SaaS, cloud, mobility and security; discussed in many forms and classifications such as location (near-shore and off-shore), contract type (traditional, co-sourcing, multi-sourcing, alliance, joint venture, internal sourcing), and attitude (treating service provider as supplier, vendor, strategic partner).
As outsourcing business models and relationships evolve, not all has been smooth. Based on the Gartner Group’s research, over half of all companies who outsource portions of their business report having renegotiated a contract for services and in nearly 25% of these cases, the original service provider lost the account. Dun & Bradstreet’s Barometer of Global Outsourcing reports that 20%-25% of all outsourcing relationships fail within a two-year period, and 50% of the relationships fail within five years.
With outsourcing well established as a business model and many success stories to share, why is it so difficult for some companies engaged in outsourcing to deliver software on time, on budget, and with few or no defects? Why do some companies spend more time changing requirements, rewriting code, and retesting than they do building the software in the first place? The answer is usually due to lack of communication, requirements, and good processes within an outsourcing relationship.
The just published “SmartStart™: Outsourcing 2.0 in Action” white paper will show you:
- The main outsourcing challenges and their best solutions;
- What are the key areas to focus on;
- The critical elements of successful outsourcing business relationships.
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