Outsourcing Evaluation Center

What Are Outsourcing Services?

Outsourcing refers to the practice of one company contracting another to do certain types of work rather than using its own internal resources. Outsourcing typically involves the transfer of the management or day-to-day execution of an entire business function to an external service provider. Three notable types of outsourcing are application development, IT infrastructure outsourcing, and business process outsourcing.

Typically, outsourcers for software applications perform custom development, maintenance, reengineering, porting, integration, and other tasks. IT infrastructure outsourcers provide such activities as data center operations, network operations, backup and recovery services, and administration services. Business process outsourcers may offer call center services, or specialize in back-office tasks like billing and invoicing.

Outsourcing Services Business Benefits and Drivers

• Reduce the organization’s internal employee workload and reallocate resources to mission-critical activities, allowing you to concentrate on core business competencies.
• Increase return on investments (ROIs) by reducing the various direct and indirect costs associated with upgrading, maintaining, and repairing your organization’s IT infrastructure and services.
• Accelerate time to market for new products, services, and strategies, as a result of the increased efficiency and skill levels of outsourcing personnel.
• Reduce risks associated with IT operations by using processes, services, and equipment that are more secure.
• Increase cash for investments outside IT by realigning the organization’s budget (monthly subscription services are available for many outsourcing services).

Outsourcing Services Risks

Be sure to evaluate the full scope of outsourcing services you require—otherwise, you may be exposing your organization to a variety of risks:

• Your organization can waste valuable time and resources maintaining your own IT infrastructure, if your IT staff does not have the required skills or training.
• Software application development is often beyond the ability of an organization’s internal IT department—you may not necessarily have the software you need to keep up with the changing needs of your operations.

Why Use the Outsourcing Evaluation Center?

• Identify outsourcing providers that match your business processes, technologies, size, domain, and industry requirements.
• Analyze the criteria that are crucial to rating an outsourcer's personnel, including accreditation, education, and training levels.
• Identify critical areas of experience from a range of outsourcing providers before selecting one for your project.
• Determine which of your activities or processes are appropriate for outsourcing, and whether the same outsourcer can provide all of those processes or activities.

Most Requested Research Related to Outsourcing

• Outsourcing 101 - A Primer
   
• Is There a Method to the Offshore Outsourcing Madness?
   
• What are the Many Flavors of Application Software Outsourcing?
   
• How do I Measure the Cost of Outsourcing?
     
• Selecting an Outsourcing Provider--Art or Science?
   
• Outsourcing Research Article Archive
   

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