The decision on whether to reassign day-to-day responsibilitiesâ€"and control--to an outside organisation can be an angst-ridden experience for CIOs and IT managers.
For some IT executives it's reassuring being able to physically see your staff dealing with issues, such as user support. They may prefer just hiring a new team member or a contractor to meet any increases in the department's workload.
However, this isn't going to be the answer for every organisation.
Often tech leaders will find that it makes sense to delegate responsibility for some of the company's IT functions to a third party.
But the decision doesn't end there. Analysts have found that the organisations realising the greatest benefits from outsourcing, and are happiest with the process, are those that have thought through the requirements and consequences.
Areas that should be considered when undertaking an outsourcing agreement are nutting out the fine print in service-level agreements, getting contracts carefully checked, and negotiating agreed uptime. Unfortunately these are details which can take longer than expected, and are easily overlooked in the rush to alleviate the pressures your team is under by adding more resources to the mix.
Is outsourcing really worth the effort? For a number of enterprises, the answer is a definite 'yes', because of potential cost savings, the addition of skill sets not possessed by the internal tech team or an increase in user satisfaction.
But it's not an alternative which suits all organisations, or that can magically eradicate every IT issue. Ultimately it comes down to carefully considering what you really need, and then figuring out the best way of achieving that goal.
What IT functions do you outsource? Do you think outsourcing benefits IT departments? Please send your comments to Talkback below or e-mail us your tips to itmanager@zdnet.com.au
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