Solution Set

Business and IT leaders have come under increasing pressure to cut costs, in part due to hype surrounding the cost-cutting potential of outsourcing.

Note

Organizations are increasingly dependent on external vendors and suppliers to enable the effective delivery of IT services. Manage the vendor portfolio to improve the relationship between your organization and its IT vendors, maximize their...

Video

Application development outsourcing offers organizations potential cost benefits, an expansion of IT skills, and a higher level of flexibility with IT resourcing. However, outsourcing projects commonly run over budget, fall off-schedule, or...

Note

Organizations need to do their homework before the application outsourcing engagement begins. This involves picking the right application to outsource, choosing a suitable outsourcer to perform the work, and planning a proper negotiation...

Tool

Application development outsourcing can be a risky process if organizations approach it unprepared. Examine organizational needs and the details of the outsourcing initiative to determine potential successes and challenges. Then decide if the...

Template/Policy

A co-location Service Level Agreement (SLA) provides a definition of performance for the negotiated service. SLAs ensure accountability on the part of the service provider and also determine the price of the service. Understand and develop...

Driven by cost pressures and a desire for increased business agility, offshoring of IT services has seen consistent growth since the 90s that paused briefly during the global recession but is now rebounding. Both large and small organizations...

IT professionals who are interested in outsourcing application development, maintenance, or helpdesk services offshore have a myriad of geographic locations to choose from. China offers a large labor pool, strong infrastructure, and low cost....

IT professionals who are interested in outsourcing application development, maintenance, or helpdesk services offshore have many geographic locations to choose from. The Philippines offers a large labor pool, strong infrastructure, and low cost....

Educational institutions report greater resource availability and end-user satisfaction after outsourcing their software. Learn how others in this sector are benefiting from application outsourcing, and prevent the most common problems before...

Government organizations report greater end-user satisfaction and increases in staff knowledge. Learn how others are benefiting from application outsourcing, and head off the most common issues before they arise.

Financial institutions and service firms report greater resource availability and faster application delivery after outsourcing enterprise software. Learn how others in the industry are benefiting from application outsourcing, and take steps to...

Health care organizations and facilities report improved deliverable quality and increased end-user satisfaction after outsourcing enterprise software. Learn how others in the industry are benefiting from application outsourcing, and prevent the...

Professional services firms report greater resource availability and improved deliverable quality from outsourcing enterprise software. Learn how others in the industry are benefiting from application outsourcing, and prevent the most common...

Retailers and wholesalers report greater end user satisfaction and faster application delivery after outsourcing enterprise software. Learn how others in the industry are benefiting from application outsourcing, and prevent the most common...

Small enterprises facing a decision to outsource server and infrastructure processes can turn a difficult task into an easy one by using a formal procedure for separating core processes from commoditized ones. Use the results from this procedure...

The current economic landscape dictates that IT must find areas in which to reduce costs. Perform a business impact analysis now in order to identify cost reduction opportunities and to future-proof the enterprise's DRP.

A vendor management office (VMO) can significantly reduce expenses by planning and optimizing IT's purchases of products and services. Moreover, certain vendors are prime cost reduction candidates. In this research note, learn how the VMO can...

Recent Info-Tech research finds that manufacturers are particularly hard-hit by 2008 economic conditions, but their IT departments have so far escaped drastic budget reductions. However, mandated cost cuts could be imminent. IT shops in the...

Recent Info-Tech research found that continuous vendor management can significantly reduce expenses by timing, planning, and optimizing IT's purchases of products and services. In this first note of three, learn about the common characteristics...

Enterprises looking to maximize or consolidate e-mail-related hosting services, or those just starting to look into e-mail archiving, should consider outsourcing the function. Evaluate hosted options on the basis of capabilities and costs.

Enterprises facing an Exchange upgrade often make the mistake of assuming an in-house upgrade path is the only option. Let the possibility of transferred risk, service gains, and cost savings steer the enterprise toward a hosted solution.

Real-time network monitoring and reporting is an increasingly critical assignment for already overburdened enterprise IT departments. For many, outsourcing the task is the answer. Understand the drivers and potential pitfalls for outsourcing...

Organizations outsource application maintenance as a means to save money, acquire skills and services, and free up internal resources. Ensure program success by following a specific process for application maintenance and support.