This paper will address the issue of outsourcing information technology services (ITS), and whether or not it has been a success based upon concrete examples and performance metrics. Initially, the paper will consider an organization (government or company) which elected to outsource all its ITS and why the outsourcing was deemed a success, paying close attention to the factors which made it a success and using a measurement of appropriate performance metrics. Then, the paper will dispute the proposition that outsourcing is a success, citing examples of why ITS outsourcing often fails. The paper will conclude with a discussion which synthesizes the arguments into a coherent statement of position. Although the paper is not specific to offshore outsourcing, some references may be made to this. While there are considerable pros and cons to outsourcing ITS, the weight of the data and the specific case studies which back-up the "success camp" suggest that outsourcing of ITS has indeed been a success.For the sake of clarification, ITS outsourcing generally is defined as "contracting with outside vendors to do various IT functions such as data entry, data center operations, application maintenance and development, disaster recovery and network management and operations." Vendors can be anything from "individual IT professionals, consulting firms, employee leasing companies, full service providers, to CPA firms."
[...] Waterhouse concluded that nearly 50% of ITS outsourcing arrangements fail, and often this is due to a failure in the relationship and a clear understanding of the expectations, versus the technology itself.[5] There are many case studies which prove that outsourcing information technology services (ITS) has been a success. This paper will use a case study of Unisys, a global company with clients in over 100 countries, and the City of Chicago. Unisys specializes in a number of fields, with IT outsourcing being a primary area. [...]
[...] Outsourcing Case Studies. Enabling Ongoing Innovation for the City of Chicago.” Retrieved from: http://www.unisys.com/services/outsourcing/clients/featured__case__studies/t he__city__of _chicago.htm. Antonucci, Yvonne Lederer. Pros and Cons of IT Outsourcing.” Journal of Accountancy. Volume 185, Issue P Antonucci, Yvonne Lederer. P Hormozi, Amir, and Hostetler, Erin, and Middleton, Cynthia. “Outsourcing Information Technology: Assessing Your Options.” SAM Advanced Management Journal. Volume 68, Issue P.18. Mitchell, Anthony. “India Maintains Outsourcing Advantage.” E-Commerce Times. May Retrieved from: http://www.crmbuyer.com/story/42781.html. Davenport, Jade. outsourcing is about relationships, not technology.” Engineering News March 2006. [...]
[...] Enabling Ongoing Innovation for the City of Chicago.” Unisys. Outsourcing Case Studies. Enabling Ongoing Innovation for the City of Chicago.” Unisys. Outsourcing Case Studies. Enabling Ongoing Innovation for the City of Chicago.” Unisys. Outsourcing Case Studies. Enabling Ongoing Innovation for the City of Chicago.” Unisys. Outsourcing Case Studies. Enabling Ongoing Innovation for the City of Chicago.” Antonucci, Yvonne Lederer. P Davenport, Jade. Davenport, Jade. Williams, Jeff. Pragmatics: Some Perspectives [...]
[...] Davenport, Jade. outsourcing is about relationships, not technology.” Engineering News March 2006. Retrieved from: http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/it-outsourcing-is-about- relationships-not-technology-2006-03-24. Hormozi, Amir, and Hostetler, Erin, and Middleton, Cynthia. “Outsourcing Information Technology: Assessing Your Options.” SAM Advanced Management Journal. Volume 68, Issue (18-27). Mitchell, Anthony. “India Maintains Outsourcing Advantage.” E-Commerce Times. May Retrieved from: http://www.crmbuyer.com/story/42781.html. Williams, Jeff. Pragmatics: Some Perspectives on Outsourcing.” The Public Manager. Volume 30, Issue (60-67). Unisys. [...]
[...] The perceived benefits are impressive and often measurable including access to state-of- the-art technology (assuming your outsourcing vendor is up-to-date with cutting edge technology); substantial cost savings (including reduced staff); flexibility (internal IT staff may have limited capabilities yet vendors can tap a wide range of skills and resources); the freeing up of a company's management to pursue core corporate strategies; a greater return on investment (ROI) as outsourcing “permits an organization to redirect its resources from noncore activities to activities that have a greater return in serving the customer”[31]; to improve competitiveness; and, of course, simply to provide better IT service to the end-customer. [...]
APA Style reference
For your bibliographyOnline reading
with our online readerContent validated
by our reading committee
