News

20.09.2010

An introduction to IT outsourcing

Outsourcing involves the transfer of the responsibility for carrying out an activity (previously carried on internally) to an external service provider. The service provider in turn provides services back to the customer against agreed service levels for an agreed charge. In many outsourcings the transfer of the activity involves the transfer of staff and assets (see the employment section below).

Outsourcing is not a new concept: many organisations are into their second or third generation of outsourcing. Traditionally the financial sector and the motor, defence and aerospace industries have dominated the outsourcing market. In the construction sector outsourcing is not unfamiliar but is a more recent phenomenon. Contractors have outsourced as customers to third party service providers. They have also, and increasingly, set themselves up to provide outsourcing/FM services to their clients, having identified outsourcing as a means of securing long term profit growth. In this briefing we look at contractors outsourcing as the customer and we focus primarily on IT outsourcing. We take a look at the pros and cons of outsourcing, issues relating to employees, global deals and off-shoring, and how to plan and prepare for a successful outsourcing.

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