Outsourcing is often poorly managed. Over 50% of outsourcing projects fail within the first 24 months. IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) shops should start managing their outsourcing arrangements according to the ITIL model. Non-ITIL shops should at the very least investigate the benefits of ITIL adoption for outsourcing.

Farming Out IT Services

Outsourcing to multiple providers often adds a layer of management complexity to IT environments. Info-Tech surveys have found that although 62% of mid-sized enterprises have outsourced some portion of IT, only 40% of these companies have implemented a formal system for managing their outsourcing relationships. This lack of governance contributes to the over 50% failure rate of outsourcing projects. The same ITIL Service Delivery and Service Support disciplines used to run IT services must be applied to managing outsourced services.

ITIL & Outsourcing: The Opportunities

When the ITIL disciplines are taken into account, the business case...