Application outsourcing is a growing trend among enterprises of all sizes and industries, including educational institutions. Info-Tech recently asked over 250 different enterprises about their software outsourcing initiatives. This group included about 20 that belong to the education sector. Use Info-Tech’s analysis to guide future decisions concerning application outsourcing plans.

Specialized Expertise Drives Interest in Application Outsourcing

Educational institutions tend to pursue the outsourcing option in the hope of gaining access to expertise in a specialized area. Other common drivers include faster application delivery and business process improvements. These motivations are typical across industry verticals, although the education sector places greater emphasis on specialized knowledge and skills compared to other industries. Academic IT departments tend to be heavily skewed toward end-user support and infrastructure, so it is not surprising that they would look externally for application expertise.