Beginner’s Guide to Finding the Right Outsourcing IT Options

Beginner’s-Guide

The prime aim of Outsourcing IT for most of us is to increase the profit without compromising with defined parameters of your clients.

You too might be looking for best options for project outsourcing. Having so many out sourcing options, how you can be sure of selecting the best to get the end results as per your expectations.

Certainly, selecting the costliest option is not the guarantee of getting the best. So, ‘how to start’ is initial stage problem that is faced even by experienced outsourcers.

The best solution of this problem is ‘self-assessment’ prior to go for outsourcing. Self assessment exercise, ‘what and how to outsource’, helps you to identify your exact requirement. It not only cuts down the project cost but also makes whole outsourcing process smooth going.

Following 4 options your outsourcing IT may have will help you in deciding ‘what and how’ to outsource.

1. Staff Augmentation:

Staff Augmentation is the basic model for outsourcing. It is the best choice if you are less experienced in outsourcing tasks because it doesn’t affect the existing ownership and control over the business.

Under this option, you ask the service provider to provide specific skilled supporting staff as a low cost supplement skill option. Here, service providers can’t be held responsible for the end results because the provided professionals work under your commands.

Pros: Certain $$$$ of cost flexibility for a long duration.

Cons: Ambiguity around Outsourcing vendor quality resources
2. Out-Tasking:

Out-Tasking option of project outsourcing makes the service provider responsible for specific tasks. Under this option, overall control of the project remains unshared with Outsourcing service provider while the providers perform some specific tasks that was provided to them e.g. Design / Programming specified module / Testing – and do not take on end to end Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

Out-tasking is a good choice to accomplish short term tasks especially if you identify existing talent hub incapable to perform as per the project requirements.

Pros: Specific task level quality profiles can be acquired outsourced.

Cons: Not a right collaboration as the Outsourcing vendor takes on partial risks.

3. Project Based:

This is one step advanced Out-Tasking option for outsourcing a project. Service providers are given complete responsibility for a project operation. The accountability for the project level but not for business level outcomes lies with service provider.

Service Level Agreement (SLA) is determined upfront – before projects are outsourced. Vendors are held accountable to these service levels. You as an outsourcer monitor the project progress closely.

Pros: Great model where Outsourcing vendors share the risks and rewards.

Cons: Demands better Biz-IT arrangement while gathering project requirements.
4. Managed Services:

Larger corporations often use an end-to-end solution approach, where all of their IT needs- ranging from ERP business solutions across business locations, maintenance of consolidated business applications or support IT infrastructure.

If you are a matured outsourcer and have good data base of service providers with whom you have worked already, Managed Services outsourcing is the best option.

In a Managed Services Outsourcing approach, one Outsourcing vendor will either

(4.1) obtain on every viewpoint of the Outsourced work or

(4.2) enter into Service Level Agreements with other Outsourcing vendors to

Outline

As an outcome you get the benefit of having one of the following:

An integrated IT business solution provided by ONE Outsourcing vendor or Operational Service Level Agreements which are signed on by all Outsourcing vendors on how they will team up with each other

Pros: Dealing with just one Outsourcing vendor or have an integrated Outsourcing solution.

Cons: This is for a very large complex outsourcing business solution where there is a need to have on-site support for a few years.
Conclusion

So, selection of outsourcing option depends on Outsourcing maturity level, existing infrastructure and the nature of project.

Following a road map to migrate from one project outsourcing model to another is also a good option but every step should be taken with utmost care.

To make the project outsourcing affair more cost effective and result oriented, a visit to How to Negotiate with an Offshore Outsourcing Company May be very helpful.



Posted on October 2, 2010 by riken on http://blog.outsourcing-partners.com/2010/10/beginner%E2%80%99s-guide-to-finding-the-right-outsourcing-it-options/