IT Infrastructure Outsourcing Evaluation Center

What is IT Infrastructure Outsourcing?

IT infrastructure outsourcing is the practice of one company contracting another to perform services and tasks related to the organization's IT infrastructure and operations. The organization may choose to outsource one or more specific projects, or may simply decide to supplement the capacity of its existing IT department.

IT infrastructure outsourcers can be responsible for some or all of an organization's hardware and software components, including data communications, telecommunications, firewalls, mainframe computers, desktop and laptop PCs, handheld devices, printers, operating systems, and e-mail management. A number of activities can typically be included in IT infrastructure outsourcing: physical facilities setup and maintenance; site and system security; data storage, backup and recovery management; hardware or software procurement; help desk support; and desktop “break-fix” and repair. The provider's aim with all offerings is to take proactive measures and perform corrective actions to maximize the uptime and availability of an organization's IT infrastructure.

Outsourcing IT Infrastructure Business Benefits and Drivers

By outsourcing IT infrastructure, organizations stand to gain various business benefits:

• reduced total cost of ownership (TCO), including lower technical administration costs, lower help desk costs, lower implementation costs, and less loss of profit due to IT infrastructure downtime
• greater transparency of task processes: thanks to service level agreements (SLAs), each party can be completely clear as to what it is responsible for doing, resulting in greater satisfaction for both the organization and its clients
• 24-7 management of desktop functionality
• upgrade and expansion of existing local area networks (LANs) or wide area networks (WANs)
• the ability to design, plan, implement, and install new networks, including required security features
• more accurate budget planning, as many hosted IT services are subscription-based and can be paid for monthly
• more secure, reliable, and scalable web sites through an outsourcer’s Web hosting capabilities

IT Infrastructure Outsourcing Risks

• You should be vigilant in ensuring that outsourcing providers are capable of meeting regulatory compliance requirements such as the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), or Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) in the UK.
• You must ensure that outsourcing providers maintain adequate data security policies and practices, or else risk loss of sensitive data.
• Without the industry-specific expertise of IT outsourcers, an organization runs the risk of performing its own activities or services inconsistently, leading to customer dissatisfaction and loss of profits.

Why Use the Outsourcing IT Infrastructure Evaluation Center?

• Get access to information that will help you receive more accurate request for proposal (RFP) responses from IT infrastructure service outsourcing providers.
• Make sure you shortlist IT infrastructure outsourcers that can provide you with scalable solutions that adapt not only to your organization’s changing needs, but also to changes in the technology landscape.
• Identify which IT infrastructure outsourcers can help you reduce the risks associated with your current infrastructure, and assist in creating a working strategy for mitigating future risk.
• Compare outsourcing companies that provide disaster recovery and security services and functionalities.
• Reduce the risk of choosing an IT infrastructure service provider that cannot provide the network or communications services your organization requires.

Most Requested Research Related to IT Infrastructure Outsourcing

• Outsourcing 101 - A Primer
   
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• How do I Measure the Cost of Outsourcing?
     
• Selecting an Outsourcing Provider--Art or Science?
   
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